


Wise Guy

by Scarlettwrites



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Big bro hawkeye, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Cap and sharon are couple goals, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Jealous Bucky Barnes, Protective Avengers, Slow Burn, Tony is basically a dad in this, a reaaaal slow burn, big sis natasha tho, in fact give yourself a hug, she's the real mvp
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-22
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-02-08 08:15:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 37,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12860484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlettwrites/pseuds/Scarlettwrites
Summary: Bucky wakes up to the Avengers still being separated, and all he wants is to talk to Cap. Y/N is the new negotiator and agent-in-training for SHIELD, and is sent to convince him to talk to her instead. There's something about her that makes Bucky feel comfortable and there's something about him that makes her question everything she's heard about the 'Civil War' between Rogers and Stark. Will Y/N keep true to the accords and her friends at SHIELD, or risk it all and run with Bucky?





	1. Awake

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first lengthy piece, seriously I didn't realize writing this stuff was so fun. It is going to be a slow burn, but Bucky is Bucky so flirting is immediate, almost. I included everyone's name that I could think of but they may not be mentioned a lot. I'm going to release a chapter every 5-7 days (I know, I'm sorry but I work a 60 hour week and have meetings and a writer's group to go to. 
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated, if you want to suggest a direction for the story, by all means do it because I'm already certian I will end up getting lost with the plot.

Today couldn’t have been worse. Late for work, spilled coffee on myself before a lunch meeting, and to top it all off my rent is late. Upstate New York was supposed to be fresh start, considering all of the destruction that went on in the big apple a few years back, upstate just seemed like a safe and practical choice. And though it’s beautiful, there’s just something missing.

Working for the former Avengers isn’t the worst thing in the world, but since the accords split the team, those of us at the base live anxious lives, wondering if Tony and Steve will ever be able to put aside their differences and settle this all. I’ve only been around for a few months and everyone is nice, but you can tell when Hill and Fury are talking about finding Captain America and the escaped members of his team, if they haven’t already. Everything is uncertain, but there are missions still out there.

My job was simple; negotiations and research. I had always been a

I was filling up a coffee mug in the lounge when I heard the familiar sound of someone ghosting through the wall.

“Hey Vision, what are you up to?”

“Miss Y/N, I fear I have upset Wanda again.”

“I keep telling you, the girl just wants her privacy.”

“Oh, Vision are you being a peeping Tom again?” Tony barged in and grabbed the mug from my hands taking a sip and putting it down immediately afterwards. “Ouch, that bad?” I laughed at his face as he scrunched it up.

“Too much sugar, how do you drink that?”

“I’m not an old man, I haven’t found enjoyment in bitter things yet.” Tony gave a half smile and slid the mug back towards me.

“You train today?” He asked. Since starting at the base doing research Tony and some of the others caught wind of my desire to become an agent. They decided to train me bit by bit to help me achieve that goal and while I would never want to sound self-centered I almost think it’s because they like me.

“I do, me and Romanoff have a date on the floor at four, and then you and I have a date at six, want to guess why?

“Today is…” Tony crossed his arms, looking puzzled when suddenly it hits him as his eyes go wide.

“Relax, she’s coming in at nine tonight, we have plenty of time to find her a gift. But honestly Tony, we all know you’re going to marry this woman you should start remembering birthdays and anniversaries.”

“Well I’ll just keep you around for the rest of our lives then to remind me of things.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.” I yelled as I walked towards the training deck, “He’s trying to replace you.”

-

A hit to the face under normal circumstances is painful, but when the fist belongs to Natasha Romanoff, you better believe it is an impending loss of consciousness.

“You need to be able to recognize a fight pattern. If I punch you should know when I’m going to kick.” Natasha offers me a hand as I try to recover from the blow I was delivered.

“Unfortunately, Natasha, I’m not that great at patterns, I was more of a word girl. English and art over Math and Science.” I took her hand and she effortlessly brought me to my feet and gave me a stern look.

“SHEILD wants it all, so I’d crack open a math book.” She turned around and grabbed two water bottles tossing one at me. “Why do you want to join so bad anyways? Got a death wish or has the media convinced you that being an agent alongside the avengers is like joining the military?”

“Neither,” I drank some water and calmed my breathing, “I guess I just figure it’s better than my other options. I don’t have anyone to really need me around and I want to do something more than fight people in other countries with guns, they think we’re wrong… we think they’re wrong and-”

“Y/N” she started, “everyone fighting a war, thinks they’re the good guy. That’s no different with enemies of SHIELD.” We were now sitting across from each other. My hair in a sweaty, knotted mess while Natasha’s laid perfectly in place. Had she even broken a sweat training?

“I think you should consider forgetting about SHIELD. You’re good, and I’m sure in a couple of months they would take you an agent, but I think you’re better than that. I’ve been here so long to try and make up for the bad that I’ve done in the past. If not for that, I’m not sure that I would have joined.”

She stood up and ruffled my hair, “Now work on those blocking techniques, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I drank the rest of my water and sat in the training room. Natasha was the first one to offer to train me, but now she didn’t want me to join SHIELD. I couldn’t help but think there was a lot more to her words than what she let on. I checked the time, and head to the showers before leaving to meet Tony at the mall.

-

“You know, if you had remembered and shopped online we wouldn’t even have to wear these.” I said as I slid into my oversized hoodie. Tony threw his hood over to cover what part of his face the baseball cap didn’t.

“Yeah well. I’m busy saving the world, Amazon and eBay aren’t exactly the most popular websites for superheroes.”

“Alright well let’s start at a jewelry store, I assume that’s what you want to get her is something shiny?”

“No, actually I have a something shiny and I have for a long time.”

“Oh my god, Tony.” I stopped dead in my tracks, we all knew he had a ring. Or rather Happy had one, but he was finally going to pop the question?

“Oh my god, Y/N” he spat back at me.

“You’re going to pop the question? Tonight? Or during the party?”

“Calm it, kid. You know nothing. I just need to get her this perfume she likes and maybe some of those cinnamon rolls that she always asks for when we’re here.”

“Okay well you find the perfume. I will pick up some Cinnabon.” I pat him on the shoulder and we separated.

I walked towards the food court, lowering my hood and twisting my hat around. There wasn’t really a reason for me to disguise myself, I wasn’t an Avenger nor a member of SHIELD. I stopped to look at a dress in the window, long and dark maroon. Something to wear to Pepper’s birthday party was on my shopping list, so I head into the store to try it on.

The dress was loose fitting and flowy made of a soft silky material. It was a cold shoulder dress with long sleeves. Just as I was admiring the way it looked on me, my phone started to buzz. There was only one person who would call at this time so without looking at the caller ID, I picked it up.

“Hill” I answered, “I am in the middle-“

“This isn’t work related, it’s Pepper.”

“Is everything okay? I thought she was on the plane”

“She’s here, they came in early, her and Happy just arrived at the compound. I tried to call Tony, Vision mentioned you two were shopping?”

“Yeah, yes. I will grab him, and we’ll get back as soon as we can, just distract her.”

“Not a problem, she looks to be catching up with everyone anyways.”

“Great thanks Hill.”

I hung up the phone and rushed to get dressed. On the way out, I bought the dress and then picked up the treats for Pepper, I also stopped to grab some gift bags and a card from Hallmark to put together in the car. I walked down towards the perfume shop near the entrance of the mall and spotted Tony walking out with a bag of perfumes.

“What happened? Couldn’t remember which one she wore?”

“No, they suckered me into buying similar scents for her, then confused me with numbers and brands.”

“Oh no,” I laughed at him, “Well I’m sure she’ll love having options, now let’s go because Pepper is here.”

“What did you just say?”

“Hill just called, her and Happy got in early. She’s catching up with everyone, should buy us some time. Oh and here give me the bag I got stuff to wrap up the presents.”

“You know, you’d make a great personal assistant.” Tony handed over the bag and I gave him a smile.

“I know, but I wouldn’t settle for anyone less than you or maybe Natasha, and neither of you are actually looking.” We walked outside into the cool air and headed towards the car.

“Y/N?” Tony started, “Thanks for helping. Pepper means the world to me I’ve just never been great at remembering to prove it to her.”

“You don’t have to prove it, she knows. Everyone knows, I mean it’s gross how much you talk about her.”

“Alright, alright.” He pushed me lightly and I chuckled, on the way back to the compound I put together the gift while Tony talked about random things that he loved about Pepper to prepare for his big question, he had no set plan but we both knew her answer would be yes regardless.

-

“Y/N!” Pepper shouted as we walked up the stairs to the lounge. I removed my jacket and wrapped her into a big hug twisting her around, so Tony could slip by with the gifts.

“I am so happy to see you Pep, happy birthday!” I pulled apart from her and smiled.

“I have to be honest I didn’t think you would still be here, I though Tony would have driven you insane by now”

“Speaking of which,” Tony interrupted pulling Pepper close to him, “am I ever going to come first on your list of ‘hello’s’ or will there always be someone else?” He smiled and kissed her as everyone gathered. Natasha and Rhodes were off to the side giving me a look while Hill, Vision and Sharon walked in to say their hello’s.

“I have a surprise for you.” Tony went to reach for his pocket, but Pepper stopped him. My heart sank at the sight.

“I have one for you too, but you’re not going to love it.” She cupped his face and he dropped his expression.

“It’s actually for all of you, I got news from a friend of ours in Wakanda.” Everyone froze at the name, I looked to Natasha and her face was straight, body still.

Tony walked over to the bar and poured himself a drink, a few others followed. At this point I knew I was in the wrong discussion. I went to gather my things to leave, realizing that this was an Avengers discussion.

“Y/N, you don’t have to go.” Natasha said, “In fact, we might need your word side if this means what I think it does.”

“What does it mean?” I asked from the doorway.

“Pepper?” Tony asked, everyone looked at her as she let out a sigh.

“He’s alive... and now he’s awake.” She looked straight at Tony “and he refuses to speak to anyone but Steve.”

Tony looked my way with worried eyes.

“Y/N, I know this isn’t your problem, but we need you to come with us to Wakanda, immediately. We’ve got some convincing to do.”


	2. Wakanda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus: These first three are backdated so it's a 3-for cause I have three chapters in the bag for y'all.
> 
> Enjoy!

**“Y/N, you don’t have to go.” Natasha said, “In fact, we might need your word side if this means what I think it does.”**

**“What does it mean?” I asked from the doorway.**

**“Pepper?” Tony asked, everyone looked at her as she let out a sigh.**

**“He’s alive… and now he’s awake.” She looked straight at Tony “and he refuses to speak to anyone but Steve.”**

**Tony looked my way with worried eyes.**

**“Y/N, I know this isn’t your problem, but we need you to come with us to Wakanda, immediately. We’ve got some convincing to do.”**

* * *

 

“I’ll go home and change then, grab some stuff.” I said, pulling on my jacket

“No time,” Natasha spoke out, “I have an old uniform or two, we’ll get that for you. This isn’t a jeans and T-shirt kind of thing honey.”

Within minutes they had a plan of action, get on the plane and fly to Wakanda. Convince Barnes to speak with me or at least hear me out, gain his trust, lock him down. If anyone out there was to know that he was alive besides us, the world would spring into chaos over what to do with him. Agent Hill, Carter and I were the first three on the plane, and there was an awkward amount of silence between the three of us. Vision and Natasha made their way on followed by Tony and a kid named Peter, who I assume is the web-slinging spider from NYC. I had seen him around and once I started working at the compound I was told his name was Peter and he was just a kid. He came on as Tony gave Pepper a goodbye.

I learned a lot about Barnes on the way to Wakanda, the plane ride served as a briefing on the man I was about to speak to. Tony used to want him dead, and I can’t blame him- this guy was the whole cause for Sokovia Accords. He killed a lot of innocent people. Natasha told me he was the one sent to kill Tony’s parents, and I can’t imagine that’s hard to just accept. Over time, though, it seems like he came to terms with the idea that Barnes and the Winter Soldier are like two different people in one body. He learned to be angry at HYDRA and those who created the soldier, not the unwilling participant underneath.

When we flew into Wakanda I expected it to beautiful, but I didn’t expect for there to be a hidden city where the king supposedly lived. We flew through some sort of illusion and into a lively city full of color and music. As the plane landed and we stepped off we met a handsome man and beautiful lady. They both stood with such grace and yet had a sort of attitude to their presence.

“Whoa, this is so cool! Is that stone or obsidian?” Peter said. His question went unanswered as Stark and Natasha looked his way.

“Mr. Stark, Ms. Romanoff” The man spoke with a gorgeous accent as his arms stayed behind his back. This was him, this was the king of Wakanda. “I am happy to see you even under such circumstances.”

“Thank you T’Challa, after we see the snow queen and get a word in with him, I would love to catch up.” Tony said. Natasha shot him a glare, even in front a king there was no filtering Tony Stark.

“I am afraid I do not recognize you” T’Challa said looking my way, “have we met before?”

“Oh.. no” I replied nervously “I’m new, or well not new but. I am a negotiator for SHIELD”

“SHIELD. After all of the accords and all of the wars, they still manage to stay afloat” He swiftly turned around and started walking. Tony and Agent Hill followed him, and the rest of us walked behind silently until I whispered to Natasha.

“What does the king have against SHIELD?” I asked, she sighed and looked away from me.

“His father was killed, during the signing of the accords. I think in some way he still blames SHIELD, as if the existence of the organization is what caused it all.”

“Doesn’t he know it was Barnes?”

“It wasn’t, it was a man disguised as Barnes. The same one that killed the rest of the winter soldiers we told you about on the plane.”

“So ever since escaping HYDRA, this James guy hasn’t actually done anything?”

“No, and I’m not exactly sure how he ended up here or asleep, but hopefully you’ll be figuring that out today.”

We continued to walk as we entered the building we landed on. Everything was beautiful, and artwork made of shiny metals were scattered along the wall. Vibranium, Gold, and stone made up the building’s structure inside and out. Everything was beautiful.

“We were attacked,” T’Challa said, “and when they struck, we lost power. A surge in electricity caused the mechanics of the cryostasis chamber to malfunction. He just woke up a few days ago. We wanted to secure the city before calling Rogers.”

“But you called us” Tony said, “we don’t know where Rogers is.”

“You can find him Stark,” Natasha interjected, “don’t play dumb, if you needed him he would be here in the next few hours. You know Steve.” She put her hand on his shoulder before making her last statement. “He’s our friend just as much as he is Barnes’ Tony.”

-

When we reached the lower floors, doors opened to reveal a dark themed room with cameras along the walls and chairs around a long table. T’Challa and the woman accompanying him sat down at the end and he looked my way.

“I hear you are to try and speak with him,” he said as he motioned to hallway leading to a door directly behind him, “we can watch from here. If anything goes wrong we will apprehend him, do not fear him. He remembers who he is, who he was before and during.”

“Right,” I started to make my way to the door, “here goes nothing.” I slowly walked down the hall as everyone sat down.

You’ve got this, I thought, Sharon and Hill have done stuff like this and they’re mortal. Natasha is mortal, just strong and lethal. Even Tony is technically mortal, not to mention the king is as well. So really everyone here aside from Vision… theoretically stands no chance and they’re all alive and here, watching out for me.

Time ran out and I reached the door, it opened from the center to reveal another dark themed room with bright lighting. It looked like a prison cell but a little friendlier, no bars, a bed instead of a cot. There was even a few books and deck of cards on a table and an office chair. The Soldier was sitting on his bed, head in his hands as his elbows balanced on his knees. I looked back at everyone before stepping in and with a reassuring look from Natasha and Tony, I walked forward and allowed the doors to close.

“James?” I said. Silence, he didn’t even move his head to see who I was. I tried once more, a little more assertive.

“James.” He lifted his head up, his long dark hair moving with it as he looked at me. His bright blue eyes looked straight through me with a blank stare. I had seen pictures of him before, but his face was always hidden behind a mask and hair. His metal arm never looked scary in the photographs but in person you can tell it can do some damage. To think Natasha took this guy on without any help at one point made me fear her a little more. He returned to his original pose and dropped his head back into his hands, filled with a little frustration and a lot of sympathy, I pulled the office chair over and sat in it, my knees about an inch from his.

We just sat there for twenty minutes, and then I took a risk.


	3. Bucky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it looks like your morals are being put to the test.

**“James.” He lifted his head up, his long dark hair moving with it as he looked at me. His bright blue eyes looked straight through me with a blank stare. I had seen pictures of him before, but his face was always hidden behind a mask and hair. His metal arm never looked scary in the photographs but in person you can tell it can do some damage. To think Natasha took this guy on without any help at one point made me fear her a little more. He returned to his original pose and dropped his head back into his hands, filled with a little frustration and a lot of sympathy, I pulled the office chair over and sat in it, my knees about an inch from his.**

**We just sat there for twenty minutes, and then I took a risk.**

* * *

 

“When I was 12 I had this best friend of like 7 years. Amy Branson, and she was the first person I liked besides my parents. Kids at the park and school weren’t very nice, so I kept away… but Amy was incredible.” I started, not sure if I wanted to continue, but realizing I had no choice if I was ever going to gain his trust. “She and I did almost everything together. Shopping, homework, games in the park, whatever young girls do. And then one day my mom told me she wasn’t going to be able to come over and when I asked why no one would tell me.”

To my surprise, the soldier sat up and met my eyes.

“Was she sick?”

“No, she didn’t even get that luxury. She got killed by an idiot trying to get around her bus.” I looked down at the ground, fighting back the tears. “When I lost her, we had been friends for half my life, and I went back to being alone.”

We sat there in silence, and a single tear rolled down my face. After a few minutes, the soldier leaned over to the desk and grabbed a book, it was red with a white star surrounded by a faded blue circle, a gift from Cap no doubt.

“He left it for if I woke up and he was gone, or just wasn’t here.”

“I don’t need to read it, I can guess what it says.”

“Oh yeah?” He asked in a cynical tone, “are you psychic? That why they sent you in here?”

My turn to laugh, “No, no. Simple human, simple mind. I just know it probably says everything I would say to Amy given the chance.”

“Which is?”

 I sucked in air sharply, afraid of answering the question. Afraid of looking weak for still mourning someone I lost over 10 years ago. I exhaled and leaned back on the chair, looking up to hide any emotion trying to show through.

“I would tell her that I love her… that I am sorry I wasn’t there for her. I would tell her that I would trade everything to make sure she got to live her life, even if it meant giving mine. I know that you don’t really know you would die for someone at the age of 12, but I would have. She took all the bad away by just being so…”

“Strong?” he interrupted.

“Yeah, she was, through all of the bullying from kids at school.”

“You ‘n’ Steve would like each other.”

I smiled at him, “Guess that means I nailed it?”

“Yeah, you did.” He didn’t smile, but he wasn’t frowning anymore.

“I’m Y/N, by the way.” I held out my hand.

“Bucky, not James.” He shook my hand with a firm grip, it was progress… what I didn’t understand is why we needed to gain his trust and lock him down. He was doing fine here in Wauconda so why take him out of this space?

“Bucky. I like it, kind of like a cartoon character. Like a beaver or chipmunk.”

“Alright, it comes from Buchannan, not from buck teeth.”

I rolled my eyes and replied with “You’d be easier to talk to with buck teeth.” This time he actually laughs, and I can’t help but smile. This was a charming, kind man and we were supposed to think of him as a threat?

“Well, Bucky, I just wanted to say ‘Hi’ so I’ll be getting back to work, it was nice meeting you.” I got up to leave, not wanting to come off as needing something from him. But as I stepped away and moved the chair he spoke up softly.

“Y/N? Do you know Steve at all? Or know where he is?”

“I uhm, I’m not sure. I never met him, after the accords and everything he’s been kind of...” I rotated my hand as if to motion wind. I wasn’t sure what word I was looking for. “…everyone on your guys’ side is kind of just out there somewhere, no one’s really looked for them. I’m sorry J-. Bucky.”

“If you find him will you tell him?”

“Yeah, I’ll let him know you’re looking for him.” I smiled as he returned to looking at the ground. I felt terrible that someone so human was locked away for no real reason. I returned to the table and took a seat, everyone looked at me in awe as I scanned the room.

“What?” I asked.

“Y/N.” Natasha replied

“What?” I asked again, looking concerned.

“He just talked to you like a friend- like he would have talked to Steve, like he knows you…” Tony said quietly, arms crossed and looking out the window, “I wonder why that is.”

“I don’t know, Tony, I just spoke to him like he was a human being” I was cold in the way I said it.

“He killed hundreds of people, Y/N” Hill chimed in, “including some close to us.” She looked over at the silent Stark man, he remained still staring out into the scenery.”

“Right. And the whole mind-control HYDRA thing is negligent? Or the fact that he died for Steve? The fact that he fought in the war for us-“

“No.” Tony said, “it’s not negligent, it’s just that we don’t know if he could snap back to the Winter Soldier.”

“Look. I’m sorry Tony, I really am. I know this must be hard, but he just wants to see Steve and know he’s not alone in this. Think about it, they’ve always been there for each other and now he really needs him, and these accords won’t allow it.” Natasha was standing against the wall looking his way with her usual blank stare, “plus it might be nice to get the gang back together.”

“If we do that, every man, woman, and alien will be looking to turn us into the UN for going against the accords.” Tony turned around, “Hill. Pepper and I need to talk press release talk. Can you get her on the phone for me?”

“Tony,” Natasha started, “If you announce that he’s alive...”

“Then Rogers and the world will know” Vision finished, catching onto Tony’s plan.

“We won’t announce anything for a few days and we’ll… Y/N will warn him.” He looked to me and I nodded once to show I understood.

“Y/N, I watched over Steve, I can give you as much as I know about him and Bucky as I remember” Sharon said.

“Oh! I can tell you all about Brooklyn, I used to go there to get computer parts and stuff from a few pawn shops.” Peter chimed in.

“Uh, thanks Peter but I think for now I’ll stick to talking about Steve,” I chuckled, “but hey, I’ll take pizza place recommendations some other time.” I nudged him with my elbow as Sharon and I passed by him to go talk.

-

“So Steve and Bucky have been friends since childhood….” Sharon started but trailed off once we were far enough away. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a little flip phone.

“I am trusting you with this, Y/N. It’s a burner phone with one contact-”

“Steve.” I whispered.

“Bucky and him… they both deserve to know the other is alive. Bucky wanted to go back into Cryostasis and now that he’s out, Steve will want to know. I know it's a lot to ask but he will want to hear it from him, not the media.”

“I’ll do what I can Sharon, I’m not used to this whole Avengers…. Not Avengers... double agent stuff, but I think you're right. They deserve to at least speak.”

She laughed at the comment and squeezed my arm, “Thank you, really, and you’ll get used to trading sides. Slip that to him somehow, and I'll make a plan to get him an opportunity to use it, away from the cameras”

-

The rooms we were given were more luxurious than those at the compound, and more than any hotel I had ever been to. I flopped down onto the soft purple sheets and let out a groan. 48 hours ago I was worried about Tony messing up Pepper’s birthday party, now I’m the only one that a ex-lethal Russian assassin will talk to and have the choice between following the accords or giving Bucky and Steve a fighting chance. Would that make me a bad person, if I went against the accords to reunite the two? As  I began to think more about it, I drifted off to sleep. I guess I’ll figure it out in the morning.


	4. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have a conversation with Bucky, and Sharon devises a plan after asking for your help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY have you guys seen the infinity wars trailer? There's so much in there I'm freakin out. I'm hoping we get a bucky end credit scene in Black Panther. AHHHHH THANOS IS COMIN' FOR YA. **And bearded Chris Evans > Clean Shaven**

**The rooms we were given were more luxurious than those at the compound, and more than any hotel I had ever been to. I flopped down onto the soft purple sheets and let out a groan. 48 hours ago I was worried about Tony messing up Pepper’s birthday party, now I’m the only one that a ex-lethal Russian assassin will talk to and have the choice between following the accords or giving Bucky and Steve a fighting chance. Would that make me a bad person, if I went against the accords to reunite the two? As I began to think more about it, I drifted off to sleep. I guess I’ll figure it out in the morning.**

* * *

 

“I don’t think I will ever get a chance to say this again so get up kiddo, breakfast is ready!” Tony said from the food of my bed

“What? No, I’m not hungry.”

“Oh this will be fun,” he started, “Young lady you get out of this bed and come eat breakfast with you team.” He made his voice a little louder but the sarcasm was palpable.

“I’m up, thanks dad.” I said laughing at his ‘stern’ tone. I got dressed and made my way to the dining room where everyone else was sitting. Breakfast was quiet and I got looks of intrigue from T’Challa as well as nervous glances from Sharon. Vision also seemed to be giving me some strange looks, and that was the one that concerned me the most.

It was odd how much of a family breakfast it felt like. Peter told stories of Queens and what he had been up to over the last 6 months since he had seen anyone. Tony gave him stories in return, but Sharon, Hill and Natasha corrected all the exaggerations and changes in them. I told everyone about what I did before moving upstate and spoke to Peter about NYC boroughs and their best pizza places. T’Challa spoke to us about his diplomacy and how he must balance that with his other duties, whatever they may be. Not once did anyone bring up what I told Bucky, and whether it be out of respect or lack of concern it felt nice to know that I wouldn’t be judged for my past. It made my decision on Steve and Bucky 100 times harder to follow through with.

-

I stepped into the room with a box, wrapped in red and white paper with a blue bow. It wasn’t the prettiest thing, but it was what was inside that mattered. Bucky met my eyes as soon as I entered. He had his hands behind his head laying on his bed. He half smiled and stood up. There it was, that 40s charm of standing when a girl enters the room. I blushed a little at the chivalry and extended my arms out to offer him the gift.

“What is this?” he asked, not moving from where he had stood.

“It’s a gift. You’ve missed a Christmas and probably a birthday?”

“What’s the date?” He asked, taking the gift from me with his metal arm.

“It’s uh, May 19th? It may be the 20th honestly.”

“Ah, couple months late for my 98th.”

“Wow, you’re surprisingly old.”

“Thanks, doll.” I smiled at the nickname. He put the gift on his table and looked back at me. “Have you ever heard of me? You know before all of this?”

“Yeah, I mean I know just about everything SHIELD does or anything they did.” Honesty was the only way to get through to anyone, that was something I learned early on. If I wanted Bucky to trust me, there had to be no lies.

“And you’re not afraid to sit across from me or be in the same room?” he asked, blank faced and perfectly calm.

“There’s really no reason to be. You aren’t what HYDRA made you, and no one knows those words anymore, the one guy who did is locked up, right?”

“I’m not sure that he was the only one.”

“Point is, you’re safe now. You’re Bucky, not the Winter Soldier.”

“The world hates me.”

“The world just needs someone to blame. You were that someone, and tomorrow it could be any one of us.” I put a hand on his metal shoulder and half-smiled at him. “This thing isn’t as scary when you get to know the guy attached to it. You don’t scream ‘killer’ to me Bucky Barnes.” I laughed and removed my hand as he picked my gift back up. He began to unwrap it and eventually revealed a copy of ‘IT’ by Stephen King.

“I wasn’t sure what kind of novels you were into, but I figured if you’re stuck here for long, IT might be a wonderful time passer.” I smiled once more and added, “it was my favorite book in high school, it actually made me cry.”

“It has a scary clown on the cover.”

“It’s about more than the clown. You should start it tonight after dinner, I think you’ll love it.”

He put it on top of the other books stacked on the table next to his bed and looked at me.

“Thank you, Y/N” he put his hand on my shoulder this time and it sent a shiver down my spine. “I wanted to talk to Steve because I thought he would be the only one to treat me like a human. I appreciate you standing in for him.”

“Now sugar, don’t you get stuck on me. I’ll come see you later today or tomorrow.” I gave him a wink and for a second it looked like he may have been turning red.

I walked back out of the room and headed to the meeting rooms to find Sharon, Bucky had the phone and explanation hidden in that book, it was just a matter of making sure he had the opportunity to use it.

-

“Sharon, I have a couple of things I wanted to ask you about SHIELD training, will you walk with me?” I looked over to Tony, he was deep into a conversation and didn’t hear me anyways.

“Yeah of course, I’m free until we figure out what to do about Barnes.”

As we walked away I asked her about technology and if they’re taught to use more than pistols. It was convincing, maybe she was right, and this would become a second nature, although keeping secrets wasn’t something I was into, Bucky needed help. I don’t know why I started to care so much about this man, maybe because I truly sympathized with him and everything he had lost.

“He has it, thank you for the copy of IT, he couldn’t even tell that it was a casing for the phone.”

“No problem, I found out a way to override the security footage for the whole wing, I just need to slip out after dinner and I have an idea.”

“Shoot”

“What if you have dinner with Buck? Say it’s to build more trust and I’ll tell everyone that I’m going to check on you. I’ll set a timer for the bug so that by the time the footage goes out I’ll be back at the table telling them you’re having a blast in a crammed room with an ex HYDRA assassin.” We both laughed at the extremity of the situation, but I nodded along with her plan.

“Brilliant,” I said, “I guess I should go ask him to dinner then.”

“Yeah, and then let the others know in front of me, so I can volunteer to check on you after we’re finished. Another thing is once the security footage goes out, you’ll hear three beeps from the camera. From that point on you have one minute. One, Y/N” she emphasized my name, “If you speak for any longer than that, you’ll be caught. Take this with you and switch it too, it’ll tie up a loose end.” She handed me an identical copy of IT, this one with all its pages.

“Sharon, you are truthfully the most brilliant agent I’ve met.”

“I know, now go get yourself a dinner date.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little short, but the next chapter is longer.... oh lordy, I never realized how much scheduling and prep this takes. Excited to say I'm still ahead but it all may be changing soon. Thanks x-mas
> 
> I appreciate the readings, I usually wont read any works in progress. I promise if you're reading along things are about to get interesting, and you'll see more characters introduced.


	5. James Buchanan Barnes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y/N and Bucky have dinner, and he let's out that 40s charm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm releasing another chapter either tomorrow or Friday, depends on what tomorrow's schedule is like in terms of real life jobs.

**“What if you have dinner with Buck? Say it’s to build more trust and I’ll tell everyone that I’m going to check on you. I’ll set a timer for the bug so that by the time the footage goes out I’ll be back at the table telling them you’re having a blast in a crammed room with an ex HYDRA assassin.” We both laughed at the extremity of the situation, but I nodded along with her plan.**

**“Brilliant,” I said, “I guess I should go ask him to dinner then.”**

**“Yeah, and then let the others know in front of me, so I can volunteer to check on you after we’re finished. Another thing is once the security footage goes out, you’ll hear three beeps from the camera. From that point on you have one minute. One, Y/N” she emphasized my name, “If you speak for any longer than that, you’ll be caught. Take this with you and switch it too, it’ll tie up a loose end.” She handed me an identical copy of IT, this one with all its pages.**

**“Sharon, you are truthfully the most brilliant agent I’ve met.”**

**“I know, now go get yourself a dinner date.”**

* * *

 

I walked to my room with the copy of the book Sharon gave me to hide it until dinner. I sat on my bed and thought for a minute about what I was doing. To allow Bucky contact with Steve would be disobeying my duties as an Agent and member of SHIELD but to keep two people who need each other apart is just wrong. Steve deserved to know, and it would be better for him to hear it straight from the source, instead of seeing it on CNN.

After stirring in my thoughts, I walked down to Bucky’s room and took a deep breath. I smiled at the personnel along the way, there was a twisting in my stomach and my mind was constantly arguing with itself over whether I was nervous about dinner or the underlying plan.

The doors twisted open and my eyes immediately found his. He gave a sort of smile as he sat up from his bed. Laying with his legs crossed, he propped himself up on his elbows and then swung around to stand up.

“You don’t have to do that anymore,” I chuckled at him, “no one stands up for women entering the room anymore.”

“Well, I don’t stand for all of them.” He mumbled and then met my gaze, “two visits in one day? Is this one bad news or somethin’?”

“No, actually…” I froze a bit, of all the times for me to seem uncomfortable this was the worst. “I was wondering if… I mean eating alone probably isn’t fun right? So, do you… want some company tonight?”

There was silence, and his face was blank as he looked straight at me. I looked down at the floor and began to play with the string from my hoodie.

“You know you don’t have to, it was just an idea. I know that meals are just meals, but I imagine you don’t get a chance to have dinner guests and I don’t know... we can forget it.”

“No, Y/N, I’m just surprised that you want to eat dinner with me and not your team. I didn’t mean to make it seem like I wasn’t interested.”

“So, you are?” I looked back at him and for the first time, Bucky Barnes had a soft smile on. Not a playful one, not a sad or fake one but a genuinely soft smile.

“Yeah, I would really like it if you came and ate with me.”

The physical space between us stayed the same, and we stood there ten feet apart for a moment before I smiled and spun around to walk out.

“Make sure you look dapper… is that a 40s word?” I asked over my shoulder.

“Jesus,” he laughed, “No that was before my time, but not by much… I was born in ‘17.”

“Well what would you say then, grandpa?” I turned to face him again and leaned against the doorframe

“Usually people just got dressed up for dinner or dancing, there was no real comment or request made.”

“Sounds like a dream.”

“Yeah, dating now seems so strange. I mean Steve gets girls without an issue now, and I’m locked in a room… it’s a nightmare.”

I laughed, hard. That was the first real joke I had heard from him. “You’re shocked? He’s Captain America, he’s the world’s leading authority on morally correct sweethearts. He saved the world with the Avengers more times than we can count and yet he was so sure his best friend was savable he risked his life to keep from fighting him.” Bucky looked down for a second at the mention of their past.

“You got a thing for him too?” He chuckled and looked back at me, with a smirk I crossed my arms and laughed.

“I’m more into the bad boys, actually.” I turned around and walked out. What the hell was that? I’m into bad boys? This isn’t a date, you’re not in a romance movie Y/N. Just go tell the team you’re eating with Bucky and then crawl into a hole of embarrassment…

-

“No.” Natasha said, “It’s too dangerous to have you in there when everyone is eating… here they all eat in the hall together, that means no surveillance.”

“Nat, I’ll be fine.” I smiled at her, “I trust him not to hurt me.”

“You barely know him Y/N,” Tony chimed in, “I’ve seen this guy hurl busses down the street, if something goes wrong-’”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” T’Challa said, “Pardon my interruption Mr. Stark but he is not a danger to anyone, he hasn’t been hostile in the slightest and he is a human being. He does deserve at least some company.”

“Thank you, T’Challa. I promise Tony, I can hold my own and if something goes wrong I’ll leave or scream.” I said. The rest of the team was huddled around waiting on Tony’s reply.

“I can check on her throughout dinner,” Sharon came forward and said, “just peak in and see how she is on the cameras.”

“Fine, fine.” Tony says. He looks at me with sad, concerned eyes. Tony was a caring man, despite everything he said and did in the heat of the moment, he cared for his team and his friends. “Just promise me you’ll be careful, I know he’s not a threat, but I also know that can change in 10 words.”

“I promise you, I will be okay.” I rested my hand on his upper arm and gave him a bright smile. Everyone dispersed and Tony and T’Challa went back to strategizing in case of another attack. I walked back into my room to prepare for my dinner with Barnes. My date with an ex-Soviet assassin.

-

Buck stood up when I walked in the room. He was dressed in what I assume were the clothes he carried around to blend in- a dark grey button up shirt and black dress pants. His hair was tied back, and he had even found time to groom his facial hair. Long story short, he cleaned up well. I smiled as I walked in, I had opted out of completely formal attire, but I did wear a dress. It was a knee-length maroon dress with long sleeves, and a cross-body purse to conceal a gun in case anything happened that in reality had the second copy of IT. My hair was also tied back in a long ponytail, there was a lot of inner conflict when it came to my appearance.

“You look gorgeous, doll” Bucky said to me with a nervous look. It probably matched mine, I stayed silent and sat at the little table in his room. The food was already out, and it was incredibly delicious looking. Steak and vegetables, makes sense given we’re practically in the King’s castle.

“I wasn’t sure if they’d even allow me to eat with you, but I’m glad they did. You look good too.” I said back.

We ate in silence for a little bit but every once in a while, I would look up at Buck and he would meet my gaze before looking back down at his food.

“I’m sorry for being so quiet.” He said.

“It’s okay, I don’t expect you to just be friendly with me after two days.”

“It’s not that, I’m just not sure what to talk about.”

“Tell me about your life before everything. Were you a happy kid? Were you in love?” I put my silverware down and folded my hands, propped my elbows up and leaned over to give him my fill attention. He put his down as well.

“I was a bit of a wise guy, to be honest. I took a lot of girls out, never really found one I wanted to settle down with. The lovey dovey stuff was more of a Stevie thing, especially with Peggy Carter, Sharon’s aunt?”

“Shut up- Steve and Sharon are together though aren’t they?”

“Well I mean they were before he took off, but yeah Peggy was his first love I think. She was gorgeous too, and she liked him before he was all beefed up and healthy as a horse. He used to be this scrawny little thing, and Y/N I mean he was an eighteen year old with the physique of a ten year old.” He chuckled, and the memories seemed to make him so happy. “We were best friends for so long, I would have done anything for that kid, and yeah. Yeah, we were happy kids as long as we had each other.”

“Sounds like you two were quite the pairing.”

“Yeah, and through everything in the war and Howling Commandos I always saw him as that scrawny little punk I grew up with. I followed him into those missions as Steve Rogers, I didn’t need Captain America to convince me. And then he saved me from HYDRA, more times than I can count. The things they did, what they made me do? He looked past all of it, because he still saw me in there, just as I saw him in Cap.”

Tears began to well up in my eyes as I commented, “Bucky, you don’t need to tell me anything about HYDRA but, if you ever… I’m here for you, as an ear or a friend.”

“The worst was being wiped.” Without hesitation he started sharing.

“I would start to remember who I was, something would bring me back. And they would take it all away, make me forget myself over and over… and over again. It hurt physically, but emotionally it killed me every time I knew it was coming. And what’s worse now is that everything I did as me or as _him_ is stuck in my mind, all the people I hurt…” And that was it, I started crying uncontrollably.

“I’m sorry doll, I can stop.” He rushed to comfort me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

“No, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that they did that to you.” I cried into his chest, realizing that this was the real James, this was the man everyone was missing out on because they were too wrapped up in what he did while brainwashed.

“Listen,” he said, “this is my burden, don’t shed any tears over it. You’re so beautiful, your smile is so beautiful you should never be sad.”

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So something I want y'all to know: If you're currently reading as chapters are released then I apologize for spelling/grammar errors or if it seems fast-paced or whatever but I'm doing this as a way to eat up my free time at work (Where I finish tasks almost 3 hours early most days) so it's not really a novel I'm looking to publish, just a fun hobby. I am ALL FOR constructive criticism though, or if you have an idea of where this should go I'm open to it. (I love the idea of an interactive fic. where the readers control where it goes.)
> 
> ENJOY YOUR WEEK HAPPY WEDNESDAY.


	6. End of the Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your dinner takes a turn as Bucky learns what was really inside the copy of IT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am excited for the next couple of chapters but my dear, is writing a fighting scene difficult.
> 
> Also this work has chapters that are partially influenced by cheesy 40s tunes so you'll see that eventually.
> 
> See you Sunday/Monday for Chapter 7

**“The worst was being wiped.” Without hesitation he started sharing.**

**“I would start to remember who I was, something would bring me back. And they would take it all away, make me forget myself over and over… and over again. It hurt physically, but emotionally it killed me every time I knew it was coming. And what’s worse now is that everything I did as me or as _him_ is stuck in my mind, all the people I hurt…” And that was it, I started crying uncontrollably. **

**“I’m sorry doll, I can stop.” He rushed to comfort me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.**

**“No, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that they did that to you.” I cried into his chest, realizing that this was the real James, this was the man everyone was missing out on because they were too wrapped up in what he did while brainwashed.**

**“Listen,” he said, “this is my burden, don’t shed any tears over it. You’re so beautiful, your smile is so beautiful you should never be sad.”**

**_Beep. Beep. Beep._ **

* * *

 

“Open up IT” I blurted out

“What??”

“OPEN THE BOOK I GAVE YOU”

He ran to the side table and opened the book, grabbing the phone out of it.

“What the hell is going on?!” He looked back at me, tears still falling down my face I stood up.

“Open it up and press send. Trust me, you need to do this, you only have a minute.”

He complied. The moment Steve Rogers answered the phone, you could tell by the way that Bucky’s face dropped. One side of the conversation was all I got, but it was enough to know I had done the right thing.

> “Steve?”
> 
> “Yeah, Y/N gave me this phone- I just pressed send I- I don’t know.”
> 
> “I’m fine, Stark is here though.”
> 
> “You have no idea…”
> 
> “I can do that, God Steve it’s so good to hear from you, I almost thought you were dead.”
> 
> I felt bad interrupting, “Buck you need to wrap it up, 15 seconds.”
> 
> “Steve I gotta go, I guess I’ll see you soon.”
> 
> “Yeah, till the end of the line.”

He flipped the phone shut and handed it and the book back to me. I switched it out with the copy of mine and he put it back on the side table.

“Sit back down, they have to think we continued our dinner, Sharon is going to be here to ‘check on us’ soon.” He sat down across from me with a blank face. “Thank you” was all he said before Sharon came in.

“Is everything okay in here?” She asked, “Video and Audio went out all over the building, they’re getting it back up now but we’re not entirely sure what happened.”

“We’re okay, just sharing war stories in here.” I said laughing and wiping away some tears.

“Alright then, sorry to interrupt.”

“It’s okay, but hey since you’re here, will you take this? I don’t think I’m going to be needing it this evening.” I handed her my cross-body, and smiled at Bucky. To anyone else, it would just look like I trusted him enough to give up my concealed weapon.

“Yeah, I’ll put it in your room. Enjoy, sorry again!” She turned and walked out. The rest of the dinner was silent. There was no way for us to talk about what had happened with audio and video being restored. I wasn’t completely sure what was going on in Bucky’s head, he could have been incredibly thankful or felt totally betrayed. I couldn’t ask.

-

“Y/N!” Sharon shouted from down the hall. It had been a couple of days since dinner with Bucky, he asked that no one come around for a while. I couldn’t blame him, it must have seemed like the whole time I was with him it was just a act to get Steve and him in contact.

“Hey Sharon, what’s up?” I replied smiling.

“I was wondering if I could be the one to train you today? I am going crazy going up against Hill, we’re too evenly matched.”

“Ah, you want an easy win?” I laughed and she threw her arm around my shoulders.

“I will totally go easy on you.”

We walked into the locker rooms and her whole demeanor changed as she looked around.

“These aren’t monitored, privacy you know?” She said as she turned on the faucet.

“What’s going on?” I asked nervously.

“I spoke to Steve before I got rid of the burner phone. He’s working on a plan with Clint and Sam… the archer and the bird guy.”

“No yeah, I know…” No I did not.

“Okay well they’re working on something, he said he told Buck to be ready to go in a couple of weeks. We’ll probably still be here.”

“So, you’re telling me because?”

“Because I think you should come with us.”

“Sharon… that would be a major betrayal to everyone here.”

“Okay? You had no issue betraying them before with this.”

“That’s different and it was because it was the right thing to do.”

“Look I’m not going to force you, it was Steve’s idea, I just agree with him is all.” She turned off the faucet. “Are you ready then?” Looks like we were still training.

-

My back hit the mat and Sharon flipped me over putting my arm behind my back, twisting it enough to evoke a loud “ow” from me.

“OKAY I TAP” I yelled out, when she released me I rolled back over and tended to the pain in my wrist.

“You actually almost had me, I’m impressed.” She said. “But you have a-“

“problem recognizing patterns, I know I know.” I said rubbing the sore spot. Natasha had told me over and over that I needed to learn to recognize a fighting style, that every fighter has a pattern.

“Agent Carter, Agent Y/L/N/” we both turned our heads to Vision entering through the wall, “Mr. Stark would like a word with everyone.

“Vision, this is why Wanda gets upset with you, learn to use the door and knock.” I said chuckling, Sharon laughed along and lent me a hand to get up from the floor.

“My apologies… I will work on it.” The three of us made our way to the main conference room.

“There they are, sorry to interrupt playtime but we have some news. The attacks were planned… a long time ago in fact, and we believe that they were hoping to lure all of us here.” Tony said.

“Why? And what proof do you have of that?” Natasha spoke up.

“We found camps established along the perimeter of the city, they found a way past the cloaking devices,” T’Challa said as he walked in. He stood between me and Sharon. “It would seem they became careless as they left some of their equipment.”

“Including…” Tony held up a small blue glowing device, “…a little power-halting jammer. This is what caused the outage that woke up Barnes.”

“What are we going to do about it?” and eager Peter blurted out, “Do we know where these guys came from, are we going to take them out?” Tony laughed at the kid’s energy, honestly if everyone were like that work might be a little more fun.

“No, kid.” Hill chimed in, “we don’t know enough yet.”

“Right, me and some trackers are going to continue surveying the land for more evidence,” Tony said, “Hill, Carter, I want you two to pull in resources from SHIELD and see if we can get any help figuring out where this little piece of machinery came from.” He tossed the blue orb up and caught it as it came down, placing it on the table. “Romanoff, Vision, you’re going to aid the people of Wakanda with Training and Knowledge respectfully. We don’t have all out agents and King T’Challa here is kind enough to lend us his brightest and strongest in case of another attack, and we want them prepared.”

“And me Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, “anything I can do?”

“Actually son, I want you to help the lab break this down and figure out how it works.” They look on Peter’s face lit up the whole room. For once, he didn’t say anything back, he just smiled and nodded.

“We are appreciative of all you are doing to help.” The king said

I sat there and looked around at the room wondering why I wasn’t given a task. As everyone dispersed I walked towards Tony as he looked out the windows of the conference room, arms crossed and a blank stare.

“Agent Y/L/N” he said, “enjoy dinner with the-“

“Why didn’t you assign me to anything?”

“Do you want honesty or an excuse?”

“Tony.” I nudged him to turn and face me, “What’s going on?”

“I think you talking to Barnes is exactly what you need to be doing.” He said.

“Okay, wait. You, want me to continue talking to the man one-on-one when you called him too dangerous 72 hours ago?”

“That was before I saw the video.” He turned, looking me dead in the eyes. “You cried in front of him, out of sympathy. No one would do that, given his track record but you did. You did because he’s a human being to you, and that means he deserves to be cared about.” I stepped back, half because his voice was raising and half because he was right and I didn’t think he paid that much attention to me.

“What got me though,” he continued, “was how when he saw you crying I was sure he was just going to stare at you, or tell you to stop. But he comforted you, like you were the most fragile thing in the world. Look, Y/N I have my issues with what happened, but I don’t see him as a villain.”

“I know, and-“

“Let me finish, I don’t see him as a villain, more of a lost puppy. And I think you are going to be the one to show him that he can trust again. So I guess, that is your assignment. Make him trust people again so if we need his help he’ll help us.”

“You’re going soft Tony.” I laughed and playfully hit him.

“Me? No, I can’t go soft, I’m made of metal.” He winked and left me to stare out the window myself. The sun was casting a beautiful golden glow on the city. I thought of how lucky I was to be on a team like this one, everyone cared whether they really said it or not. Even the emotionless Black Widow had expressed concern over your well-being.

-

“Is he allowing anyone in yet?” I asked the guard outside Bucky’s door.

“What is your name, young one?” He asked me, he towered over me, wearing a beautiful black uniform that complimented his dark skin.

“Y/N Y/L/N” I replied.

“Ah, the only one.” The guard pushed the button and the doors opened.

Bucky was laying on his bed. Reading IT.

“Hey you.” I said, he didn’t react. Maybe I was only on the list out of necessity.

After a few seconds he folded the corner of the page and set the book down. He stood up, and smiled.

“I really like the book. You’re right, it’s about a lot more than the clown.” I smiled back at him.

“Just wait, the end of it had me crying like a baby.”

“No more crying, please.” He put his hands up in a defensive motion and I laughed.

“No, no more crying” I reassured him, “anyways, how have you been?”

“I was feeling crappy, had some nightmares. That’s why I didn’t want anyone around. Sorry I shut you out without a reason.”

“It’s okay, I’m practically a stranger.”

“No, you’re the closest to a friend I’ve got right now.” I froze and gave him a half smile. Was that sweet or was is sad?

“I’m happy to be your friend Buck.”

We sat and talked for a while about books and music. I had been raised off old movies and musicians, so we actually had some mutual favorites. Bucky told me he would teach me to dance, I said I would show him Frank Sinatra. We bonded over time, three weeks to be exactly. Eventually I realized that I was developing feelings for the man in front of me, and although I knew I couldn’t act on them I didn’t regret letting them grow.


	7. Chances Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Genuinely caring about someone is hard, especially when you care enough to share your past. Bucky and the reader listen to music and the reader opens up to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dfkajfgajhf Happy monday? 
> 
> So look I'm going to Mexico for an escape from the winter in the northern midwest (kill me, always) and that means a lack of an update so if anyone is actually reading this, I am sorry and I will be back in a week, I AM going to try to put a chapter up Wednesday/Thursday but I'm just not sure if I'll have time to tweak/edit.

**“It’s okay, I’m practically a stranger.”**

**“No, you’re the closest to a friend I’ve got right now.” I froze and gave him a half smile. Was that sweet or was is sad?**

**“I’m happy to be your friend Buck.”**

**We sat and talked for a while about books and music. I had been raised off old movies and musicians, so we actually had some mutual favorites. Bucky told me he would teach me to dance, I said I would show him Frank Sinatra. We bonded over time, three weeks to be exactly. Eventually I realized that I was developing feelings for the man in front of me, and although I knew I couldn’t act on them I didn’t regret letting them grow.**

* * *

 

“Hey Buck.” I said walking through the door with two mugs of coffee It was 6 AM and I had promised I would wake him up the night before. We had spent the evening before together, watching a movie and talking about life in the 30s as a teenager. “WAKE UP SOLDAT.” I spit out, pulling the covers off of him.

He slept shirtless, his back muscles tightened as he shot up, he was not a morning person and I learned that quickly. “Y/N” he started “if you didn’t br-“

“Cream, no sugar, sugar.” I slid his coffee towards him on his side table.

“Why are you so... happy? What time is it?”

“Six. In the morning.” I laughed as the soldier tried to adjust to waking up. He pointed to the dresser and I opened the drawer, tossing him a shirt.

“Did you say ‘soldat?’” he asked, pulling the shirt over his head.

“Yeah, sorry I thought you’d get up faster.” He gave me a small smile, entertained by my attempt at a Russian accent I sipped my coffee sitting on the chair by his bed. “Hey I was thinking, I brought my speaker and I think it’s time you meet Frank.”

“Give it a go then” He said, sitting up and drinking his coffee. I turned on the speaker and connected my phone, scrolling through the list I opted to pick a famous Sinatra song as opposed to a personal favorite.

_And now, the end is near_

_And so I face, the final curtain._

_My friends, I’ll say it clear_

_I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain._

“You’re into this?” He asked, looking up to me.

“Yeah, I love Sinatra- Wait let me show you this one.” I switched it to New York, New York. Not a personal favorite but definitely a classic, and one that would possibly hit home with the Brooklyn Boy enough to spark an interest in hearing more.

_Start Spreadin’ the news_

_I’m leavin’ today_

_I want to be a part of it,_

_New York, New York_

I started to sing along and spin around, careful not to spill my coffee. Bucky laughed at me and set his mug down on the table. He stood up and caught me mid spin. My coffee almost came out of the mug as my movements were halted by his grip on my elbows, it was barely contained causing me to gasp. Again, he just laughed at my gracefulness or lack thereof as he put his hands on my mug.

“Put on a slow one, whatever you got.” He said, as he removed the cup from his hand and put it down. He started to move the furniture as I picked a slow song, I knew what was coming but I played it smart shrugging and looking back at my phone. Chances Are by Johnny Mathis was what I eventually decided on.

“Alright, come here.” He said holding out his arms, “I’m gonna teach ya to dance, so you stop makin’ me dizzy with your spinnin'.” Brooklyn accent fully in tact, he smirked at me, if this was his way of getting the girls back then I could definitely see how it would be effective.

_Chances are 'cause I wear a silly grin_

_The moment you come into view_

_Chances are you think that I'm in love with you_

As I approached he positioned one of my hands around his shoulder and then wrapped his metal arm around my waist. The flesh hand caught mine and he entangled his fingers with mine, we were closer than we had ever been and I felt my heart swelling up. We started to move and I let him lead us around the space we were given. I looked up to meet his gaze, his eyes were hooded and he was smiling at me, I smiled back before leaning my head against his chest.

_Just because my composure sort of slips_

_The moment that your lips meet mine_

_Chances are you think my heart's your Valentine_

“My parents used to dance to this song in the kitchen when I was a kid. It’s the reason I love it so much.” I said, I could feel the tears starting to swell up in my eyes. I had never spoken of them to anyone, not even my teammates.

“Used to?” He asked, beginning to rub my back.

“Yeah, My dad died when I was really young, probably around 11, he was really sick.”

“I’m so sorry Y/N.” He continued to rub my back as we moved to the words.

_In the magic of moonlight when I sigh, "Hold me close, dear"_

_Chances are you believe the stars that fill the skies are in my eyes_

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“What happened to your mom?”

_Guess you feel you'll always be the one and only one for me_

_And if you think you could_

_Well, chances are your chances are awfully good_

“New York.” I started choking up, “A few years ago, the Avengers had to save us all from alien attacks in New York and not everyone made it out alive. She was in a building one of the spaceships crashed though.”

“I’m sorry, you don’t have to-“

“No it’s okay. She uh, she was on the 34th floor and when the ship crashed through it she was thrown out. She died on scene, no hospitals no chance to save her. You just don’t survive that kind of thing.”

His grip on my waist tightened and he shifted our dance into a hug. He didn’t let go until the song ended, and he let me cry into him without question.

_Chances are you believe the stars that fill the skies are in my eyes_

_Guess you feel you'll always be the one and only one for me_

_And if you think you could_

_Well, chances are your chances are awfully good_

_The chances are your chances are awfully good_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW it's shorter, like 1000 words v.s. the 1.4-1.6k I've averaged so far. I FOUND a perfect song to incorporate with this show-me-music thing reader and buck have going, so be on the lookout for feels :)


	8. Patterns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We figure out who attacked Wakanda (unless I already spilled the beans in my unorganized writing, then oops). Reader shows off their new fighting skills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I PULLED IT OFF.  
> I leave for Mexico tomorrow, doubt that for the next week I'll be posting so I hope this will hold you over.

**“I’m sorry, you don’t have to-“**

**“No it’s okay. She uh, she was on the 34 th floor and when the ship crashed through it she was thrown out. She died on scene, no hospitals no chance to save her. You just don’t survive that kind of thing.”**

**His grip on my waist tightened and he shifted our dance into a hug. He didn’t let go until the song ended, and he let me cry into him without question.**

**_Chances are you believe the stars that fill the skies are in my eyes_ **

**_Guess you feel you'll always be the one and only one for me_ **

**_And if you think you could_ **

**_Well, chances are your chances are awfully good_ **

**_The chances are your chances are awfully good_ **

* * *

 

I made my decision, and I wanted to go with Sharon and Bucky when the time came. I went to find Sharon to set a time to talk, her and Hill were on the third level trying to pull what they could from SHIELD. I walked into the communications room and tapped on her shoulder.

“I need to talk with you, and I was wondering if we could do some training?” I asked with a serious look.

“Uh, yeah. Hill can you manage without me for an hour or two?” She looked over to Maria who was sitting on a headset.

“I’ve managed how many years without you Sharon?” She smiled and waved us off.

When we got into the training room, the bathrooms were almost deserted, Natasha was training the soldiers that T’Challa had put under our leadership outside in the jungle to tach them how to notice incoming agents in case they attempted stealth attacks, so the training rooms inside were up for grabs. Tony and Peter had been using them, but they were off figuring out the mechanics of the jammer the attackers used to wipe the power out.

Sharon turned on the faucet and began to remove her makeup, if only to kill time while the two women who had wrapped up combat finished getting dressed and left.

“You actually want to train?” Sharon looked at my reflection in the mirror, “You look nervous, are you okay?”

“No,” I started, “I just… I want to go with you guys. Steve and Buck and whoever else.”

“Oh, alright, well that’s no problem why are you so shaky?”

“Because I’ve known James Barnes for a month and I think I love him” I realized how ridiculous it was coming out of my mouth.

“Y/N,” she laughed at me, “you aren’t in love with him, you’re infatuated. I know you guys get along really well but I think you’re stressing out because you don’t know what love is.”

“What do you mean? I know what love is…”

“Who was your first love?”

“What?” I recalled a few named of guys I dated in High School and College, did I really love any of them?

“Okay, let me ask you this, what was your most meaningful relationship?”

“Kenny Struthers, we dated from senior year throughout our first semester of college. He followed me to NYC to go to Columbia.”

“Okay so we’re talking a year?”

“Well, More like eight months.”

“Alright, eight months. Did you love him?”

“What? I-I don’t know.”

“Then you didn’t. Love is a sure feeling. You care for Bucky, and considering you haven’t so much as flirted with a guy since I’ve known you, I doubt you’ve cared for someone like that in over 3 years.” Sharon walked over and rested her hand on my arm, looking me in the eyes. “I think you’re making yourself go crazy thinking about it. If you care for him, then just go with it, you deserve some sort of normalcy.”

“I don’t think we get normal.”

“This is as close as you’ll get to it so enjoy it. I’ll talk to St-“

And then a loud boom interrupted her. We looked at each other and ran to the windows of the training room. There were hundreds of men outside fighting against Nat and the soldiers in training. We rushed down the hall and Sharon looked at the Guards.

“Where’s the King?” she asked one of them, “Is he safe, where is Stark?”

“We’re here, let’s go!” Tony yelled running past us.

“I have to grab my suit, I will be fighting alongside you momentarily” T’Challa said as he ran down a connected wing.

The rest of us rushed to the ground level to join the fight. Sharon mumbled encouragements all the way, things like “you got this” and “remember to look for patterns” as the doors to the outside opened, soldiers and enemies rolled around on the ground fighting with no end in sight.

“Agents, a little help?” Nat yelled as she flipped a man onto his back.

Sharon lunged after a second man on his way to the brawl. I felt a hand grab at my shoulder, turned and punched the man square in the face. I used the arm on my shoulder to twist his body so his back was facing me then used my wristlet to taser him. He fell to the ground convulsing as the next in line lunged to attack me. I dodged his punch and swept my leg across his angles to throw him off balance, he fell to the ground and I knocked him out with a quick punch to the face.

The next man approached and tried to uppercut me, I blocked it with my arm and he landed a blow to my stomach. Then he kicked, blocked. Punch to the stomach, blocked. Knee came up to knock my arm out of the way as he tried another uppercut. His moved became predictable and soon I found a moment of weakness. As he came for another swing I ducked out of the way and delivered a strong blow to his lower abdomen. He bent over, and I stood. Taking his head in my hands, I brought it to connect with my bending knee. He fell to the ground and I used my wristlet once again to taser him. Next up-

I was restrained by a man twice my size, towering over me. He brought a single arm around my torso keeping me restrained and then twirled me around to deliver a blow to my face. I went straight to the ground and heard nothing but a wringing in my ear. Real punches hurt a lot more than the blows in training. They’ve been going easy on me. Mid thought I was raised to my feet then off the ground by a tight grip around my throat. I gasped for air, and when it all seemed to start going black I was released. I sucked in all the air that I could, coming back to reality. When I looked up there was no longer a large man, but instead a familiar face with striking blue eyes looking back at me.

“B-Bucky? Wh-“ I tried to speak but my windpipe was still recovering. Bucky extended a hand and I took it, rising to my feet.

“You gotta pick on someone your own size, doll.”

“He started it.” I choked out. The remainder of the fight went just as expected when superheroes are involved- we kicked ass. I suffered a few blows and sustained some battle wounds. After everything was done, we all converged around the collection of knocked out or dead enemies.

“HYDRA.” Bucky quietly said, looking up at T’Challa, “If I had seen them the first time they attacked I would have mentioned it but. I know this symbol.” He picked up a pin that looked like an octopus with a in a thin circle.

Everyone was silent, Tony was looking at Bucky with a blank stare, since their altercation in Siberia, this was the first they had been face to face with each other.

“Come,” T’Challa started, “we have much to do Mr. Stark.”

Soldiers began to arrest those of the agents that were still alive and drag the deceased bodies off into the building. I shuddered at the sight and felt a cool arm wrap around me.

“If you’re going to fight these fights, you better get used to the blood. There's not a single mission I've ever been on-” Bucky spoke lowly and sternly.

“I don’t mind the blood, it’s the thought that these men, who might have been good men at some point, are dead for nothing, dead for an organization that will never win.”

He brought me into his chest and rubbed my back for a second before we walked in.

“Hey soldier,” Nat began, “remember me yet?”

“Yeah I know you, you’re the other former Soviet assassin right?”

“Russia, not the Soviet Union.”

“Times change, the job doesn’t” They shared a blank look and she nodded before Natasha smiled and they both chuckled- as if it was a weird inside joke they had. 

“I’m going to talk to T’Challa,” she started, “I don’t think you’re enough of a threat for us to keep you locked away. You should be free to walk the confines of the building at least.” She turned her head to smile at me for a second, I knew what she was doing but I wasn't about to stop her.

“Thanks, uh?”

“Natasha. Nat. Widow. Whatever you want, zimniy soldat.” She winked at him and laughed as she walked away. I looked at Bucky with my one of my eyebrows lifted.

“She called me _Winter Soldier_. I shot her, once. I remember it now.”

“You shot _at_ her a lot in the past.” I laughed at the stories he had told me about fighting Steve and Nat, destroying yet another highway… something Avengers were seemingly great at.

“Yeah, this was back in Russia. I shot through her stomach to kill a target.”

“Rad. Looks like she forgives you though.” I said, “Just don’t get any ideas, I think she’s still pining after Dr. Banner, who is somewhere in the universe pining over her as well.”

“I don’t know who Banner is, but he’s in for a wild ride with that one.” We laughed and walked towards the conference hall, his arm still around my shoulders.

-

We all gathered in the hall to discuss the chances of finding HYDRA’s base using SHIELD resources.

“Everything that SHIELD has is at our disposal, Fury’s orders.”

“I thought SHIELD was a done deal?” Bucky said, sitting at the table with the rest of us, everyone looked his way then looked at Sharon, Hill and myself.

“I mean, we’re not the way we used to be,” Hill began, “but we’re still around. The world needs us, Nick knew that and reformed shield under guidance of the UN. We’re not allowed anymore privacy when it comes to anything, hell the entire world will know we are looking for HYDRA within the hour.”

“Look, this isn’t the focus.” Tony said, standing at the head of the table with T’Challa. “We need to pull our heads together. Barnes, where are HYDRA bases usually at?”

“Far from wherever they’re attacking. Most likely set up campsites within a hundred meters, I can show you where I would look if you give me a map.” He looked up at Tony, “I will give you whatever I can on them, as much as I remember.”

“Good to know,” Tony looked at T’Challa, “we’re about to be really busy kitty cat.”

“Tony,” Peter started, “I figured something out about the device. It’s using some sort of highly compacted electrical current, it can be set off by remote or by coming into contact with another electrical source. If we can replicate it we could take out their power when we eventually find their base.”

“You must have been bored in High School.” Nat spat out. “I mean at this age you’re dissecting gadgets from the one of the most intelligent terrorist organizations in the time it takes some kids to learn geometry.”

“Uh, yeah I mean I just studied other things, graduated early like really early.”

“Okay enough personal story time,” Tony interrupted them, “if I have to watch Parker stutter and mumble to flirt with the other spider in the group anymore I’m going to hurl. Vision, can you tell me anything about the layout of the land?”

“Sir,” he started, “I have been learning about Wakanda for weeks, they have many underground tunnels used for trade and quite honestly anything you could imagine dating back centuries.”

Tony looked over to Bucky, who hadn’t moved a muscle since he last talked, “Barnes?”

“Check any entrance that’s been difficult to get to or caved in over the years. HYDRA would place a campsite in plain sight, but hidden away just enough for you to look over it.”

“Alright everyone,” Stark clapped his hands together and enthusiastically smiled, “see you all at family dinner."

We all turned to leave as Tony spoke up one last time.

 

"Barnes, a word?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO that was a 2k word doc, but in other news the next few chapters are really exciting to me and I cannot believe I have been able to do this multi-chapter work. Thank you for all the support as always.
> 
> xoxo Scarlett (not the witch)


	9. Team Cap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Bucky talk about the past, and then he learns that Team Captain America has gained a member.

**“Sir,” he started, “I have been learning about Wakanda for weeks, they have many underground tunnels used for trade and quite honestly anything you could imagine dating back centuries.”**

**Tony looked over to Bucky, who hadn’t moved a muscle since he last talked, “Barnes?”**

**“Check any entrance that’s been difficult to get to or caved in over the years. HYDRA would place a campsite in plain sight, but hidden away just enough for you to look over it.”**

**“Alright everyone,” Stark clapped his hands together, “see you all at family dinner. Barnes, a word?”**

* * *

 

Everyone froze and looked at Tony, then Bucky, then back at Tony. It was like we were witnessing the end of the world. Bucky nodded and Tony shooed us all away. We ran to the surveillance room to listen in, on the cameras we could see that Tony sat down at the head of the table. Buck was still sitting about eight chairs down from him not moving.

“Listen Barnes-“

“I’m sorry, about your parents. I would never forgive me either.” Bucky was staring straight across from him at an empty seat, seemingly afraid of eye contact.

“I-I do forgive you.” Tony said, shifting his gaze to the table.

“What?”

“I know that you weren’t… _you_ during that time. I know you were basically an empty shell for them and that you had no control. I was angry in the moment because after all of the years I spent wondering what happened my answer was right in front of me and a man I thought was my friend wouldn’t allow me to act on my impulse. I wanted to kill you, but that wouldn’t have brought them back and I would have been killing a man that didn’t deserve it.”

“Sta- Tony. Do you remember when you asked me if I remember doing it?”

“Yeah, you told me you 'remember them all.'”

“It was like watching myself commit the crimes, while inside I was screaming for someone to make me stop. I became a machine, not just physically,” He waved his metal arm around, “but in my mind, it was like gears turning, there were no thoughts or emotions, just orders and reports. Whatever was left of a human being was hidden away, and then when Steve found me it's like he pulled it to the surface, but the other me? He was constantly fighting to get back up front, it's why I wanted to go back under."

They both remained sitting, looking away from each other in silence as we watched. Bucky stared at his metal hand with tears forming in the corners of his eyes while Tony eventually stood and looked out the window.

“I thought a lot about it when you went back to being an ice cube, I didn’t know you went back under until pretty recently, I thought you were out there living life on the rebel side with Cap and the rest of em’. I thought about going after you but then Steve let me know that if I ever needed anything he was still there and I just let go of everything else. I never wanted a war between us, I never wanted to make a split between the good-good guys and the good-bad guys.”

Buck stayed silent, but looked up at Tony. No one in the room could understand why but they nodded at each other and then Tony slowly walked over to him. Bucky followed suit and they faced each other. They shook hands and Tony gave his I’m-over-this-conversation smile before taking his hand back.

“You’re still under close watch Barnes, but since you haven’t gone Terminator on us, we’ve decided you’re free to roam around and look out windows and do whatever you want... within reason.”

“Thank you,” Bucky said, “that’s more than I deserve so thank you.”

“You still need to regularly speak with Y/N, she’s here to make sure you’re not going crazy on us and I’m sure by now she would be able to tell before any of us could.” _Was that a wink, Tony? Don't do that._ I found myself beginning to smile, Nat and Sharon looked my way but I ignored it all and dropped my smile. 

“Right, no problem.”

They walked opposite ways after leaving the room, Tony headed towards the room we had all been spying on them in, causing us to bolt up from our position. We all rushed to the hallway as inconspicuous as we could and began to talk about Wakanda, Nat began to talk about training when Stark walked up.

“Enjoy the show?” he smiled at us and kept walking. We all looked at each other awkwardly and I shrugged it off. Peter went back to the lab with Vision, they began to work on a design to replicate the jammer. Hill and Sharon went to speak to Fury about a list of requests from the King and Tony to continue an investigation and Nat and I were left to engage in awkward talk.

I liked Natasha, but she was so warm and friendly to everyone else that I felt like I was doing something wrong all the time. She was kind in training, but it came off as a teacher-student kindness and concern.

“You like him.” She randomly said to me, I shot a look of surprise to her. I could tell in the room that quite a few people had come to this conclusion, but not wanting to admit anything I tried to play it off as infatuation or general interest in his mind.

“I-I mean, he’s kind.” I said, “He isn’t at all how people said so I just, the psychology he-”

“It’s okay Y/N,” she laughed, “you’re not breaking the law, you can crush on a coworker at SHIELD, it happens. A lot.” She gave a small smile, but I could tell there was more pain behind it than anything else.

“Nat. Do you...do you ever miss Banner?”

“He left, right? I mean just like everyone else in this dump, I am not suited to have a relationship, not an easy one at least.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, Natasha.”

“Listen Y/N,” she lowered her voice as if someone was listening from around the corner, “this job is hard on everyone. I know how you feel about everything, it’s the way that I feel and the way Clint felt. He got a family but they live in a secluded area hoping everyday that dad will come home to them when the fact of the matter is, retirement isn’t an option. If people need us, we’re going to be there and that makes commitment hard. The sooner you realize that, the less it hurts when you inevitably figure it for yourself."

“I guess I just have too much faith in love and emotion to accept that I’ll never settle down.”

“You don’t have to give up on it, maybe one day we’ll fight the last fight and all get to go off and get married and have a family, maybe we won’t. You have to be prepared for both sides, not just when it comes to Barnes but with anyone. SHIELD First, girlfriends second, relationship third.” We laughed a little before I leaned my head back against the wall. I bit my lip due to a lack of a response and she gave a weak smile before walking off. I threw my head forward after a few moments, in front of me was a piece of art that was completely black with a shattered glass pattern drawn out in gold, I stared at it for a long time before I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. I placed my hand on it and twisted it around to find it belonged to Bucky.

“What the hell?” I yelled, “We just got attacked don’t sneak up on me Buck.” I forced his body forward and he turned around shook out his metal hand.

“Sorry, you looked upset I wanted to ask what was wrong, just didn’t wanna interrupt you.”

“No, I’m sorry. I was in a thought.”

“Well, I’m here if you wanna talk about it.” There was a brief silence before he spoke up again. “Look I’m not really familiar with this place, been a little cooped up ya know?”

“Yeah, I can show you around.”

I took Bucky down the halls and outside to show him around our temporary base. We were mostly silent, talking about HYDRA and what they could be planning occasionally. We made our way from the bottom floor up, ending up on the roof of the building where we had landed the quinjet. It overlooked beautiful jungles and a waterfall in the distance along with statues of Black Panthers hidden away in the foliage.

“I’ve been to a lot of places, but never one quite this pretty.” Bucky said.

“Yeah, I was always a sucker for waterfalls when I was younger. We went to Niagara Falls when I was eight or 9 and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.” I thought back to that day, watching my mom yell as my dad and I laughed at the water splashing up onto the boat. We told her to wear a poncho but she didn’t think they were necessary."

“Do you think about them a lot?”

“Don’t you think about your family?”

“No. I mean every once in awhile, I get pieces of what I think are memories of them but… it’s all pretty much faded behind the murders and the war. HYDRA took every piece of who I was and ripped it apart, then they replaced it with things to benefit themselves. And-“

“I’m going with you guys.” I interrupted him.

“W-What?” He turned to stand in front of me and put his hands on my upper arms hesitantly, “You can’t... what about everything you’ve worked towards with SHIELD and Stark?”

“I can’t stay here, I want to do the right thing, and to me it’s fighting the battles that need to be fought. I don’t want to live my life by the accords that I don’t agree with so I’m not going to, I’m team Cap as of this moment.” I shined a bright smile as his eyes searched mine for evidence that I was really ready to leave SHIELD behind. 

“Y/N, you’ve been team Cap the whole time. You sound just like him.”

“Maybe that’s why you like me so much.”

“There are other reasons,” he gave me a smirk and I felt the red rush to my cheeks. I looked down and he chuckled, “like that! The amount of effort I have to put into a comment to make you turn red is close to nothing.” He moved his hands to pull me into a hug and spoke up one last time., placing one hand between my shoulders and stroking my hair with the other, “Thanks for everything, I don’t know how I would have survived the last month without you keeping me company.”

Like clockwork, Sharon had to show up and ruin the moment.

“Y/N! Bucky!” She yelled from the stairwell door walking over.

“Hey Sharon,” I said separating from the soldier, “I was just telling Buck I’m going with you guys when the time comes.”

“Well that’s great, I have a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO FROM MEXICO.
> 
> So everything here is amazing and I had to do some work stuff so I went ahead and edited this chapter to post. I still have three days here and I'm officially out of chapters that are done ahead of time. Also, I'm only about a third of the way through the plot outline I've created :)
> 
> I'm hoping to have one for y'all for the holiday season but If I do that will be posted the 23rd, and then you won't hear from me until possibly after New Year's. (Big Family, lots of spending time together.) 
> 
> Till next time, xoxo Scarlett. <3  
> p.s. I've been asked twice- Scarlett is my name, it wasn't a Scarjo or Scarlet Witch thing, Although, I don't mind the association.


	10. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan gets established and set into motion, T- 40 hours until Cap and the rebels arrive, are you ready?

**Like clockwork, Sharon had to show up and ruin the moment.**

**“Y/N! Bucky!” She yelled from the stairwell door walking over.**

**“Hey Sharon,” I said separating from the soldier, “I was just telling Buck I’m going with you guys when the time comes.”**

**“Well that’s great, I have a plan.”**

* * *

****

9 AM (t- 40 hours)

The plan was not as simple as any of us had hoped. Sharon and I were instructed to convince the King to help us out, and although we were told it wouldn't be hard it seemed impossible convincing the king himself to betray what remained of the Avengers. On the other hand, King had already helped him keep Bucky safe, so it wasn’t entirely unfathomable that he may lend a hand. Wanda had taken a quinjet on a ‘recon’ mission and picked the runaway heroes up to hide out in the jungle, where they would be at the point of interception. If everything went according to plan we would be on the jet and far away in 40 hours.

“I think you should do the talking,” Sharon looked at me as we walked towards the conference room to find T’Challa, “I mean it’s your job, and he scares me a little bit with how calm he always is.”

“Nat is always calm.”

“Right, and you’re not afraid of her?”

I looked forward, fair. She was a pretty intimidating woman, I wouldn’t dare borrow a pen from her without fearing my life if I lost it.

“Fine, fine. I will talk to him… where can we get him to go that isn’t monitored?”

“Roof?”

I gave a single nod to confirm and we entered the conference room to find T’Challa standing much like Tony had so many times before, staring out the window, arms crossed and broody.

“I have a meeting in a few minutes, agents.” He said without even looking our way.

I swallowed hard and looked at Sharon before walking towards T’Challa.

“We would like to speak with you when you’re done, if you have the time… we’ll be on the rooftop-“

“-preparing for a SHIELD delivery” Sharon cut in with a good save. T’Challa turned our way and smiled weakly before nodding and sending us on our way. Part ‘a’ of part 1 of the plan was complete, but it was about to be a long day.

9:30 AM (t- 39.5 hours)

Sharon and I had told Hill that we were going to be around the building all day creating plans of action for multiple possible attacks- mapping out escape routes or ways to increase our chances of a quick painless battle. It was a load of bullshit but somehow we made it sound necessary enough, to where all of our tracks had seemingly been covered. Walking out of the communications room I walked shortly behind Sharon, my nerves building up and stressing me out until a low voice sent all of it packing.

“Hey Doll,” I turned to a Bucky that I hadn’t seen much of before, a happy smiling one looking my way, “I was thinking about that song you showed me by that guy Frank, I’d like to hear more?”

“Yeah, Bucky… I just-I’m a little busy right now but.” His look lost enthusiasm and guilt filled my stomach. Here I was his only real friend and I was rejecting him all for the sake of helping him, but I couldn't just say that out loud.

“Come with us, Barnes. You can listen to your music later, for now you could probably help us out with our current objective.” Sharon said, saving me from the the speechlessness that would have inevitably occurred had she let me and Bucky continue our conversation.

10 AM t-(39 hours)

We stood on the roof waiting for the king to arrive. My stomach was tied in knots in fear of what would happen if we were caught. If T’Challa said no, surely, we would be detained for conspiring against the accords and I would lose all chance of becoming a full agent of SHIELD. Sharon would be demoted if not terminated, and Buck… Buck would be sent back to solitary confinement and be alone all over again.

“Y/N? You have to stop pacing around, you’re going to draw a lot of attention.” Sharon bit at me, ‘sorry,’ I thought ‘you try backstabbing the only people you’ve really been close to for the last year and then tell me you’re not nervous.’ I continued to pace, ignoring her comment until Bucky held his left arm out straight to block my way. I could have turned around, but his glare down at me made it clear that I was, in fact, going to mess up our plan if I kept pacing. Bringing him up to speed turned his demeanor into a confusing mix of nervous and excited.

Standing on the rooftop consisted of silence and agony as we waited for five minutes…ten…twenty. Finally the roof access door swung open and T’Challa walked our way, in none other than his Black Panther suit. What on earth would make him think-

“I assume, by the attendees of this meeting, that you will be leaving?” T’Challa quickly glanced at each of us individually. This was… easy?

“I don’t-“ I started by the cut me off again.

“There is little that goes on here that I do not hear about, and while you’re stealthy Agent Carter, you are not invisible. If you wish to leave and find Rogers, I only ask that you are careful and keep from harming those who protect this city on your way out.”

“Actually,” I started while stepping forward. There was little space between me and T’Challa already and taking a step forward put us inches away from each other. Natasha had told me once before that when you do this is can be seen one of two ways; intimidating or sexual, but no matter what they saw it as it would always work to your advantage. “we already found him- or, know where he is. We need your help to get him out of here” I continued, tilting me head toward Bucky when speaking. T'Challa placed a firm hand on my shoulder and pushed space between us.

“I will help you, Agent Y/L/N, but only because I owe him one,” he turned his head to look at Bucky, “for holding a crime he did not commit against him.” Bucky nodded, and then T’Challa nodded in response. That was it. He put on his helmet and took off in his Vibranium suit as if he had just stumbled upon us and gave a quick ‘hello.’ We all looked at each other and Sharon shrugged.

“I’m not gonna complain” She said, it elicited a small chuckle from Bucky, but I was still just standing there confused, something didn’t seem right to me.

“Don’t worry Y/N, please. I can see that you’re overthinking right now, he owes me because the UN bombing that killed his father was reported to be my fault. He allowed his anger to consume him and went after me.” Bucky offered and explanation in hopes of calming my mind, which only worked a little bit.

“It wasn’t until they were already in Siberia that we found the proof that it wasn’t Barnes. A man had made himself look like Bucky and bombed it.” Sharon added. I nodded starting to see why T’Challa not only agreed to help but why he was willing to help.

“He doesn’t have an opinion on the accords,” I said, “he thinks both sides are right?” Sharon and Bucky looked at each other and gave a ‘more or less’ look on their faces. We looked out to the jungles wondering just where the king had

11 AM (t- 38 hours)

After the awkward encounter on the roof, T’Challa left to attend to Tony and their research and as Sharon and I did actual work for SHIELD to help our story, Bucky aided us by explaining how HYDRA used to attack, their patterns, strategies, what the front line would most likely consist of. It was helpful and any time I had with him was an enjoyable time.

1 PM (t- 36 hours)

After a long and painfully sarcastic lunch with the team, I found Sharon and walked down the hall with her. She looked around before opening her mouth to speak.

“The King has mentioned to the staff that we are to no longer be monitored in terms of what we are saying and doing. He said he told them that SHIELD is no threat and therefore there’s no need to watch over us.”

“They all know anyways, don’t they?” I asked, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, not everyone does, but really it just means we can speak freely- except when it comes to Barnes, be careful with that one. We may not pose a threat but he can’t just pretend to forgive and forget the winter soldier, you know?” She slung her arm around my shoulders and nudged me to turn down the hall towards the lab. Before making it to the entrance we took a left down a small hallway passing windows looking in. I stopped for a second smiling at the view from the window.

Tony was slightly leaning over a lab table holding up a light and a mirror while an invested Peter Parker assembled a small box similar to the one they had found in the jungle. Peter took a moment to look up and smile at Sharon and I before returning to his work and Tony said something that must elicited an eye-roll from T’Challa and Parker. The king, after missing lunch, was biting into some fruit watching from the head of the table. You could tell he was asking questions to Vision who was standing next to him, they both looked over and gave a wave before continuing their conversation. Sharon pulled me away from the window muttering about how they were all nerds but all I could feel was guilt. These people were like a small family and here I was ready to abandon them for a guy I had met a month ago?

We continued down the hall and took a left at the end, then a right down the service hallway where there were lockers and changing rooms. We walked past it all and reached an area with a few couches that looked like a break room for the service staff. Sharon flipped the second light switch from the entrance and the carpet separated. A Secret hatch?

“It’s for the staff to use as a fire escape or in case of an emergency. Leads to one of those old tunnels?” Sharon read my mind and answered my question. I nodded, and she started down the ladder that clung to the wall of the hatch. I followed behind her and when we reached the bottom I looked up and the hatch had closed.

“How does it know?”

“What?” She looked at me with an amused grin.

“How does the hatch know to close?”

“You know, that’s a good question.” She laughed, and we walked down the dark tunnel using our flashlights to watch out footing. The sounds of dripping water and splashes at our feet took over as we reached a hidden branch on the left.

“I hope I remember all of this when the time comes-“

“Shhhhh!” Sharon hushed me, and we stood still and listened turning off the flashlights. There was a slight splashing coming from behind us and terrified to think that one of the team members had followed us, I slowly made my way to the end of the tunnel and jumped once I discovered the source of the noise.

“Sharon, it’s a god damn frog in a puddle.” I whispered, I began to laugh uncontrollably eliciting a chuckle from my partner in crime as well, we continued down the tunnel to the end where we climbed one more latter to a clearing in the jungle.

“This is where it’ll go down. I wanted to show you in case you and Barnes get separated from me.” She motioned to the building and all around the clearing before continuing, “the compound is obviously over there but the rest of this is pure jungle, no hidden camps on SHIELD’s side so if you need to hide out..”

“Why would we be separated?”

“Well- listen getting Barnes to Steve is more important than getting me to him. So if something happens and we need to separate, you will get Barnes to the jet, understand?”

“I get it, I just- “

“Me and Steve have a thing for going months without seeing each other, a few more days won’t kill me.” She started back towards the compound and I followed her as we came up with ideas on what to say about our random adventure if anyone asked. I was told to find Bucky when we got back and ask him to go on a walk the following night. That’s when we would execute our plan.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I hope your holidays were great. To all of you hoping things start between reader/buck get started soon... it's on the way. And within the next 2-3 chapters you'll see some reuniting and stuff.... :)


	11. Not Afraid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan advances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feels warning :')

**“Well- listen getting Barnes to Steve is more important than getting me to him. So if something happens and we need to separate, you will get Barnes to the jet, understand?”**

**“I get it, I just- “**

**“Me and Steve have a thing for going months without seeing each other, a few more days won’t kill me.” She started back towards the compound and I followed her as we came up with ideas on what to say about our random adventure if anyone asked. I was told to find Bucky when we got back and ask him to go on a walk the following night. That’s when we would execute our plan.**

* * *

 

8 PM (t- 29 hours)

I went to the training room with Nat once we got back. She gave me praise on the last few months of training and how well I had done. After that she took me to a makeshift shooting range where we indulged in my favorite types of weapons, long-range sniper rifles and compound bows. There was nothing better than the accomplished feeling of hitting a target over 100 yards away, and over the months and months at SHIELD I had grown a love for staying behind in our airsoft or paintball scenario training and working the snipers. I also found my way into the bows that Hawkeye had left behind, Nat said I was free to use them and that Clint would have gone crazy if he had thought they were just sitting around collecting dust. He had been team Cap during the fiasco between the Avengers but after his wife campaigned for his freedom, the UN agreed to pardon him in exchange for information (of course, it was all carefully calculated information that he and Steve had agreed upon). He now resided in the middle of nowhere with his family, but had an agreement that put him back onto SHIELD as needed, sometimes with as little as an hours’ notice.

After all the extensive training, we had dinner. These days the team was scattered amongst several important tasks, preparing for something- anything. This left mostly everyone on their own for dinner, and so I ate with Nat, Maria and Sharon, talking about SHIELD and Fury’s decision to put Hill in charge of more and more. Sharon and Nat insisted that once Nick retired, which would be sooner than later, she would be up for the new director position and while she argued we all knew that she was his right-hand man. Hill always knew more than anyone else, her whole life was practically spent servicing SHIELD with long hours and extra detailed reports or briefs. There was no other option, we discussed other things like how Bucky was doing and how mysterious and appealing King T’Challa was. We even talked about the exchange we had seen between Tony and Bucky , about how hard it must have been for them to admit the events that had transpired, for Bucky to take the blame and accept the responsibility and for Tony to forgive him and accept the circumstances.

I followed the long hallway to the now familiar room that had once been so highly guarded I would have to give my full name just to walk up to the entrance. I was supposed to find Bucky as soon as we got back but between the training with Nat and SHIELD-girls-only dinner I didn’t have the time to find him. I crept around the corner and silently snuck my way into the room when I heard faint talking. The room had been rearranged per Bucky’s request so that a small TV and some training equipment could be placed in. His bed was also upgraded to a real life full size, replacing the army cot looking one he had before. It was now parallel to the wall with the doors, and he was laying on it curled up in a blanket watching a documentary. Before asking I decided to listen in on it, and then I noticed that as he listened he tensed up and shook… was he crying? Did he not hear the doors open?

“… and so, The Howling Commandos were formed. Those who were brought onboard were P.O.W.s from the war and seen as insane”

I laughed, remembering the stories I had heard about Captain and Bucky when I was in history classes, they were voluntary missions and these men went every time.

“The team consisted of Captain America, a Brooklyn native formerly known as Steve Rogers. Alongside Rogers was childhood best friend, James Buchannan Barnes. The only man to ever give his life for the Howling Commandos.”

The screen went black as a little message popped up. **The following is a testimony from SHIELDs very own, Peggy Carter in 1952.** It faded into an interview with Peggy Carter, Sharon’s aunt and Captain’s girlfriend?

_Peggy: Steve was incredibly distraught when we lost him. He had gone through so much trouble to find him. I remember the day we heard news of the 107 th being captured, and Steve rushed to ask if James had been a casualty and when the commander had said he recognized the name you could see it in Steve’s eyes- he knew his friend was alive. You know when your connection is that strong with someone. We went against his orders and Captain Rogers left on a solo rescue mission. When they returned, I think all of our men accepted that Captain America was more of a useful man on the field than the stage._

_Interviewer: The Howling Commandos quickly became the brute force behind major victories, but during a raid on a train, Barnes’ life was lost._

_Peggy: Yes, when he came back from that mission it was as though everything had changed. It was no longer about Zola or the Red Skull. It was about avenging his dearest friend. When he went into that water, sometimes I wonder if his last thought was of our conversation or thoughts of whether he was about to reunite with Bucky Barnes._

Bucky tensed up more and a tear fell down my cheek. Without hesitation, I walked over to his bed and sat behind him. Unsure of what to do, I did what I would have wanted someone to do. I lifted the blanket and crawled under it, wrapping my arm around his waist and pressing my cheek against his back. He relaxed a little as the documentary continued to play. I rubbed his stomach slowly in small movements, just hoping to show him some compassion and understanding. Eventually, he completely relaxed.

He shifted a little before flipping to his other side and wrapping his arms around me. His right arm wiggled its way under my neck and his hand gripped my shoulder as his left arm was loosely around my waist. He was crying, I could tell by the staggering breaths leaving his lungs, but he wouldn’t allow me to see. He was wrapped around me tightly and his chin was resting above my forehead. I accepted the moment of sincerity and turned my head to melt into his hold. My right arm rubbed his back as we just laid there for a while, he steadied his breath and the documentary ended. I think he was listening the entire time, reliving the memories, missing his friend- the only one he thought he had left. I listened to the music from the play screen- snare drums and trumpets filling in the silence between us, but I just snuggled further into Bucky’s chest to let him know I was there.

9 PM (t- 28 hours)

He dozed off first, breathing in and out slowly, all of his muscles relaxed as his right arm fell to the space behind me. I looked up at his face, and studied it. His strong jawline covered in stubble, long black hair somewhat in his face, and a completely relaxed expression reminded of me of why I was so intrigued by him in the beginning. Here was a man who had been through more than imaginable, who had been brainwashed to kill and harm and cause chaos, yet he had spent the last hour holding you tightly, needing comfort for the pain and regret he felt. Here was a man who let me in, despite my working for SHIELD or agreement with the accords. Yawning, began to shift away from Bucky’s embrace to head to my own room. I decided I would ask him tomorrow if he wanted to walk, and I decided I wouldn’t mention what had happened, I wouldn’t tell him how much I enjoyed his warmth or the fact that he let me be there for him. I propped my elbow up and started to slide away when I was quickly pulled back into his arms.

“Stay Y/N. Please?” he mumbled into my hair, I pushed against his chest and our eyes met for the first time.

“I don’t know if that’s a great idea Bucky.” I said, he let go a little, but his grip remained strong enough to keep me in place.

“Nothing is a _great_ idea.” He starts, “Listen, I was told you were here to make sure I don’t go crazy, well every time you leave I go crazy.”

“What are you talking about?”

“When I’m not around you I just constantly think about that next time I’ll see you, my head is all HYDRA, Steve and our past, and You.”

I cleared my throat, feeling tears forming. I was so close to letting all my feelings slip but instead I just nodded.

“I- I’ll stay. I’ll stay.” It was barely a whisper, but once I let it out he turned to lay on his back, pulling me with him. I draped my arm across his waist and laid my head on his chest.

“Doll, I need you to switch sides.” He wiggled his arm from underneath me, “the other one doesn’t fall asleep.” I chuckled and then gasped as he used his metal arm to effortlessly flip me over to his left side.

“If you don’t want to- “he hovered my hip with is hand and began to offer me an out, but I pulled myself into his chest.

“I am not afraid of you, James Barnes.” I said as I took his left hand in mine to guide it to my hip. “Besides, you’re an oven so it’s a good balance with the coolness.” I looked at him with a smile. His beautiful blue eyes looked back at me and the corner of his mouth turned up into a smirk. He closed his eyes and leaned back, looking completely comfortable. I listened to his heartbeat as my head moved with the breaths in his chest until eventually I slipped into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I PROMISE CAP COMES SOON I'M SO SORRY.  
> Next chapter is long, like really long (to make up for the lack of posting last week).


	12. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the escape plan is executed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen y'all merry late xmas or early birthdays or whatever cause this chapter (was supposed to be 2) is 3100 words long

**“I am not afraid of you, James Barnes.” I said as I took his left hand in mine to guide it to my hip. “Besides, you’re an oven so it’s a good balance with the coolness.” I looked at him with a smile. His beautiful blue eyes looked back at me and the corner of his mouth turned up into a smirk. He closed his eyes and leaned back, looking completely comfortable. I listened to his heartbeat as my head moved with the breaths in his chest until eventually I slipped into a deep sleep.**

* * *

 

10 AM (t-15 hours)

I woke up to a terrifying realization. Although the rest of us weren’t being watched, there was still a close eye on Bucky, meaning that everyone probably knew how the night had gone. I laid awake for a minute just taking in the sweetness of the moment. Everything was about to become so chaotic that a moment like this might not happen again. I focused on the warmth coming from his body and the hand tangled in my hair. I closed my eyes, as if to attempt to paint the portrait of this morning on my eyelids so I would see it whenever I closed my eyes.

A sharp inhale and a sigh indicated that Bucky had woken up, he detangled his hand from my hair and placed a soft quick kiss on my forehead before stretching out.

“Well good morning.” I said to him, rolling out of his embrace and looking at him with a wide smile.

“Morning. Sorry I made you stay when you tried to sneak out.”

“Bucky, I- “

“Y/N, don’t. I shouldn’t have asked you to do that.”

“I wanted to.” I pulled him back towards me. He rolled onto his side and I placed a hand on his cheek.

A silence hung in the air as we looked at each other. While his face displayed a look of fear mixed with sadness most of the time, this morning it was showing care and trust. I began to pull him towards me, letting my forehead press against his, our noses brushed against one another and then my worst fear snuck its way in between us.

The doors opened and I somehow managed to not only separate myself from Bucky, but spring up from the bed and distance myself from it as well. Natasha walked into the room, first looking at Bucky comfortably laying in his bed, then her lips pulled into a smirk as she shifted her gaze to me looking me up and down.

“Y/N, you’re late for breakfast and Sharon and Hill mentioned needing your help with something SHIELD related. Sounds like they need special stuff from Fury and want you to use your words.”

“Right,” I started, “I’ll see you later Bucky, I actually wanted to ask you to go on a walk later? Maybe after dinner?”

“Yeah,” he agreed, turning his head to the side, “I’ll see you later.”

I walked out of the door with Nat and we headed towards the makeshift SHIELD office down the hall.

“Looks like you had fun last night.” She nudged my elbow.

“It was just- I don’t know what it was honestly.”

“It’s alright Y/N, I would never judge your choices. That would-be Clint’s job, he’s the dad.”

“I already have one superhero that treats me like a kid, I don’t need another. Please just keep it to yourself Nat, I am begging you.”

“I will, but don’t worry about Tony. He cares about you and he has is past with Barnes, but he would never ask you to do something you didn’t want to or give up something you care about.”

“Thank you.” I choked out.

12 PM (t- 13 hours)

After breakfast, and an hour on the phone with Fury convincing him that we will need more agents and supply, Sharon convinced T’Challa to eat lunch with us. We sat around a perfectly set table and ate as a collective group. I was seated across from Peter and in between Nat and Bucky. Tony sat, of course, opposite of T’Challa at the head of the table. They updated us on their progress with the devices, having now completely replicated and tested this jammer, the young genius Peter Parker altered it to reach further and shut down anything- including powered suits. To most of us, the work seemed more like a hobby to them or a way to pass the time. The whole 6 weeks or so we had been here seemed like a vacation but as long as the accords called for it and there was a chance of finding the runaway avengers, we would be assisting the king.

“Anyways, Tin Man and Dorothy, I was thinking you two should go to the range later.” Tony flashed me a smile and then looked at Bucky, “Now really I want you to be back in the swing of things but I don’t know that you wouldn’t run away into the jungle and go feral so Agent Y/L/N will take you.”

“There is a better range for your specialties about a quarter mile down the service road in back” Natasha butted in, slicing into her food. The kind looked at her quizzically. “What? I’m observant.” She laughed at her own joke and took a bite. All this without even looking up… sometimes I swore she had a super power or two.

“Thank you Tony,” I said, “I’m sure we’ll take you up on that.” I looked at Bucky and he just nodded at Tony like it was some sort of man-language sign of respect.

“I’ll j-“ Nat started before Sharon oh-so-obviously kicked her leg. They glanced at each other before Nat continued, never taking her eyes from Sharon, “I’ll show you the way after lunch.”

2 PM (t- 11 hours)

After more conversations about technology, Wakanda’s culture and SHIELD updates, Natasha and I left to get supplies together while Bucky was fitted with tactical gear and training clothes. Sharon was obviously frantic inside about the night to come, and the king was quieter than usual. Was there a break in the plans that they weren’t telling me about? Is something wrong?

My thoughts were interrupted when we came face to face with Bucky and Sharon, laughing and talking about Steve’s inability to let go of a fight no matter the chances. It made me smile to see that they had each other to talk to about him, lord knows I couldn’t joke around about him with either of them without seeming like I was overstepping boundaries. It was also nice to see that Bucky was warming up to other teammates.

“Ready?” I asked, looking up to Bucky

“Ready.” He replied.

2:30 (t- 10.5 hours)

Natasha led us down a long road to a few scattered buildings while talking to Sharon who she had asked to walk with us. Bucky ripped open the rusted door and we walked inside. It was a clean room, despite that by the outside looks it hadn’t been used in years. The walls were lined with different shelves and rods to hold guns and ammo and the window to shoot was almost from the floor to the ceiling, supported by beams over a 20-25 foot drop off.

“It says the furthest target is 2000 yards out.” Sharon said.

“I see it” Bucky quickly replies, we all snapped our heads to him… there was no way. “It’s just between those two taller trees near the top of that hill. Bright red.” He pointed and I looked down the scope of my rifle, sure enough a bright red circle was staring back at me through the glass.

“Nice eye.” Natasha remarked

“Super serum.” He said as he smirked.

“I’m almost sad to see you guys go.” Nat said quietly, Sharon and I shot each other a worried look and all of us tensed up.

“I-Nat how- “ I started only to be interrupted immediately.

“You think I don’t know scheming? I’m a master of it. I put it together when I saw Sharon getting buddy-buddy with you, she doesn’t do that. Look I’m not going to tell, the truth is I’m only where I’m at because they made a point to pardon me if I followed the accords. It seemed like the better option at the time.” Nat leaned back against the wall and looked up, with a light chuckle she continued, “I noticed you stuffing a copy of IT into your bag, after you had already brought one to Barnes. At first, I thought maybe you were going to have a happy little book club but I was curious so I bugged his room the night you had dinner. I heard the phone call, the execution of your plan. It was well done but you forget who I am girls. Regardless, I just want everyone to get along again and… I want to run with you guys.”

“You what?” I spit out. Natasha looked straight at me.

“Look being Tony’s friend is easy, but working with him is difficult, he doesn’t have the best moral comps and Rogers is someone I care about that I know does the right thing. And don’t you ever repeat this, but I miss that stupid archer too.”

“Isn’t he pardoned?” Sharon asked, Nat took a deep breath in and let out a sigh.

“Doesn’t mean he’s not in the wrap with Cap.” She brought her lips up into a soft smile. “Look, me and Sharon will talk about it, I’m not going to snitch. We’ll leave you to your date now.

“Not a-“ this time I was interrupted by a door slam as the girls left us alone.

4:00  (t- 9 hours)

“Do you think she’ll come with?” Bucky took off his ear muffs and turned his head towards me.

“I’m not sure. She seemed okay with either scenario so it’ll depend on what Sharon says.”

“I like her.” He took the cartridge out of the rifle and snapped a new one in, “she’s good for Steve and she’s nice like Peggy.”

“Yeah she’s nice. Nat wouldn’t be the worst to have along for the ride either though, she just.”

“She scares you.”

“Oh, GOD, she is terrifying. I just can’t tell what she knows or thinks or anything at all, ever.”

“I’ve heard stories of girls from the Red Room. They’re usually stealthiest in plain sight, I was sent to take care of a few and they were a match for me even as the Winter Soldier.”

A shot rang out in between our conversation. Bucky nailed the furthest target without taking a moment to aim.

“Nice shot.”

“Thanks, I guess it’s kind of like riding a bike huh?”

“I’m not sure, I’ve never put it down in the whole month I’ve been shooting.” I laughed and looked over to see his eyes focused on mine.

“You new to sniping?” He nudged me with his elbow and smiled.

“I mean, I’m new to everything, but this has been the most enjoyable. I just need to work on aiming.”

“You need to work on your hesitation. When you line it up, breathe in and breathe out when you take the shot.” He shifted himself over on the floor we were laying on and brought his left arm around me to move my elbow.

“Line it up.” He said, and I did. After I nodded to him he removed his hand from my arm and rested it on my lower back. He brought his face inches from mine and whispered. “Breathe in.” _Sure, if I can remember how to breathe._ “Breathe out and…”

A loud shot rang out and I watched down the scope as I hit the target in front of me.

“1250 ain’t bad, doll.”

“Thanks.” I turned my head to look at him and our faces were so close I could feel him breathing, the warm air hitting my cheek. I tilted my head up and our gazes met.

Breathe in, breathe out and… take the shot.

I closed the gap between us fast enough to keep myself from changing my mind. His lips were softer than I imagined and his hand that was resting on my back came up to grab a fistful of my hair as he deepened the kiss. Before I knew it, I was being pulled away from him.

“Doll, I-“

“No, I’m sorry Bucky. I shouldn’t have… I-I’m so sorry.” I tried to get up but he twisted himself around and caged my hips with his pelvis. His hair was falling in my face before he used one hand to pull it back. He used a hair tie to put it back and looked down at me.

“I was going to say I can’t believe you beat me to it.” He chuckled and got off me, standing up and offering me his hand. I took it and he pulled me up into his arms. “I’ve wanted to do that since we danced in my room.”

“Really?” I could feel all the red rushing to my cheeks. I put my head against his chest and wrapped my arms around his middle. “Things are about to get really complicated Bucky.”

“I know.

6:00 (t- 7 hours)

Everyone was on their own for dinner, Tony and T’Challa had opted out for their own reasons. The girls from SHIELD were training and chose to eat later. Bucky and I had been at the range for hours and when we arrived back it was a quiet and empty compound.

“Something about this feels wrong.” I laughed “There’s no sarcasm or subtle fighting. Feels like we’ve all taken a break from being a dysfunctional family.”

“I’m alright with one night without everyone staring at me and Stark, wondering if we’re going to snap on each other.”

“No one really thinks you two will fight… we just hope so.” I smirked his way as we walked to get food from the kitchen. We pulled together a small meal and ate in silence for a moment. I thought about how sad it was that unknowingly, Tony had skipped out on our last meal before everything changed.

“Are you alright?” Bucky’s voice pulled me out of my thought process.

“Oh, yeah I just. It’s hard to know what tomorrow is going to be like.”

“You don’t have to go with us you know.” He was quiet when he said it, but I could feel him giving me a sad look, I frowned and turned to him.

“I know, but I want to and… I just wish no one had to leave. These accords have just made everything so. I don’t know.”

“It’ll be okay, eventually. Play it by ear and if you want to come with us then fine but if you decide in a couple hours you want to stay then stay. You owe us nothing Y/N.”

“Thank you, Buck, you should go get some rest though.” I placed my hand on his cheek and smiled at him. He turned his head to plant a small kiss on my palm before smiling back.

“Come with me?”

12:00 (t- 1 hour)

I woke up to the sound of shuffling in an empty bed. When I opened my eyes, I saw that Bucky had been packing up all his stuff, looking at the clock in his room I let out a sigh.

“Is that because you’re not ready to leave or not ready to see me leave?” Bucky threw a duffle bag and a backpack down by the door to his room. He was dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie with a ballcap.

“You look so suspicious right now, and I’m going with you. I told you, I want to.”

“Y/N. It’s a life of running and fighting if you do, and you could end up in jail. Forever possibly, I mean we’re considered war criminals.”

“Then send me to jail, it’s the side of the fight I want to be on.”

Bucky walked towards his bed and lifted one knee to rest on the edge of it. Quickly he cupped my face and kissed me. It felt urgent, but at the same time desperate as if he was thanking me for going. When he pulled away I froze up and he looked at me, brows brought together in confusion.

“I think,” I started, laughing before continuing, “that it’s just going to take some getting used to.” Bucky laughed with me before the doors to his room opened. Natasha and Sharon walked in with bags, both dressed in all their SHIELD gear.

 “Okay here’s how this is going, Nat and I are going to leave now, make sure everything is clear. Once we get to the end of that service tunnel I’m going to go ahead, and Nat will stay to meet you. Be safe, and remember Y/N, if we’re not there, don’t come back for us.

12:30 (t- 30 minutes)

We started down the hallways of the compound, keeping quiet and trying to stay away from cameras as we made our way to the lab. I did everything I could to remember the way Sharon had taken me as we went passed the lab and took the turns down the hallways. We went through the hatch and once at the bottom I checked to make sure it had closed. We made our way down the tunnel, took the left and once we hit the clearing I saw Nat waiting for us. She waved us over and we followed her through the jungle. My stomach was in knots as we approached a landed quinjet in the center of a small clearing and I saw a familiar face.

“Y/N!!” Wanda all but yelled. Natasha and Sharon shushed her as she ran to me, throwing her arms around my neck and pulling me in tight. “I was so happy to hear you would be joining us.”

“I’m happy to see you Wanda, and you too Sharon. Guess that means we’ve all made it.” Wanda and Bucky exchanged hellos before all our attention was stolen by the opening door of the quinjet. Once the platform lowered, heavy footsteps made their way down it until a bearded blonde man made his way into our sight. He walked up to us and gave Nat a reassuring pat on the shoulder before turning his attention to Sharon. He placed his hands on either side of her face and she brought hers to cover his. Their foreheads touched as they both smiled and then he placed a kiss on the top of her head. He continued down the line with Bucky, and there were no words between the two of them just a couple of smiles and a hug, much like one you would see between two brothers.

Finally, I was face to face with his man that I knew so much about from history books and museums. Someone who got on so well with everyone I knew at some point. He extended his hand out to me and smiled brightly as I shook his hand.

“Steve Rogers, nice to finally meet you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, you finally get to meet Cap, next chapter has a heavy interaction with him & you'll meet the rest of our pals too. The conversations I have planned out for reader and cap and bucky/cap are just so good but I don't wanna spoil anything so i'll see you in a few days <3


	13. Getting the Gang Back Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang talks a reunion, and Bucky learns his past is always going to catch up to him.

**Finally, I was face to face with his man that I knew so much about from history books and museums. Someone who got on so well with everyone I knew at some point. He extended his hand out to me and smiled brightly as I shook his hand.**

**“Steve Rogers, nice to finally meet you.”**

* * *

 

“I’m Y/N, nice to meet you too. Bucky says we have a few things in common.” I said nervously.

“Ah, you pick losing fights too huh?” his laughter put my nerves to ease and turned to face everyone.

“I know you’re all risking a lot. Nat you’ve been a huge part of SHIELD and a friend to Tony for as long as I’ve known you. But all of you are making a sacrifice that I cannot begin to imagine, and it means a lot so thank you. There shouldn’t be two sides to this argument but there are. I promise you I will do everything I can to assure you that you all chose the right side.”

“Enough chit chat cap, let’s get out of here.” A voice rang from inside before a man popped his head out, “Hey Nat, Carter. You’re new!” He said looking at me.

“Y/N Y/L/N. SHIELD Negotiator, also agent in training… or. Was?” I informed him.

“Wow we’re changing their minds before they even hit full agent status now?" A man stepped into the conversation, "Clint Barton, welcome to the rebellious side, hope you like running and sleeping on the ground.” He disappeared back into the jet and for the first time I swore I heard Natasha laughing.

Before we could get too comfortable, lights flashed on the grounds at the start of the trail we took from the compound. I looked at Sharon and she began to walk back.

“Stop.” I tried to yell with no success, “Sharon! Stop.” I caught her arm and turned her around. “Get on that jet, I will go.”

“Y/N I told you-“

“Okay and now _I’m_ telling _you._ You deserve to be with Steve, you’ve done a lot more sacrificing than me, let me make that up to you… or whatever.” I smiled and pushed her towards the rest. “You guys make sure you leave on time, don’t wait up.” I yelled back. I could see the pain in Bucky’s eyes at the thought of me being left behind, but we had all agreed that getting Bucky out was what was to be prioritized. I waved to him and he tried his best to fake a smile, then Steve put a hand on his shoulder and shot me a sincere smile.

I headed towards the lights expecting to see Stark or Hill with a flashlight, ready to ruin our plan. Once I got close, the lights turned off and I felt surrounded in the dark. I went to turn on my own flashlight only to be face to face with a man dressed like the ones we had fought earlier in our stay. Before I could jump to defend myself, arms were brought around my torso and I was being held for the man in front me to freely take shots at. One punch was landed to my gut, followed my two strong blows to my face before I was dropped to the ground and everything went a little fuzzy. To try and steady myself, I closed my eyes for a moment.

The ringing in my ears settled and I opened my eyes to see two agents on the ground and another one being knocked out by my very own knight in shining armor, James Barnes.

-

I stood up and watched as Bucky yelled at the man he was holding in the air. They were communicating in both English and Russian. Nat went to help me back to the jet, but I stopped her and asked her to translate.

“vy ne mozhete ubezhat,” the agent said

“You cannot escape,” Nat translated for me.

“Gidra zhivet, soldat…”

“HYDRA lives, soldier…”

“…i vy tozhe.”

“…and so do you.”

“zhelaniye, rzhavyy, pech’” Bucky dropped the man and started to tense up completely. I looked at Nat concerned, and she sent a dart from her wristlet into the man’s neck electrocuting him to stop the words. She ran and got something to tie his hands together behind his back and dragged him before looking back at us.

“What just happened?” I called out while steadying my walk, afraid to startle Bucky by creeping up on him.

“It’s the damn words, they’re still a trigger... and HYDRA still know them.” He replied. He propped his elbow on his knee and put his face in his hands. I walked over and kneeled down with him, taking one of his hands in mine.

“It’s okay, let’s get you back to the jet and we’ll take it from there okay? Come on, I got you.” I swung his arm around my shoulders and motioned for Nat to lead the way. There was no way in hell I was serving any purpose in supporting his weight, but I wanted to do whatever I could to help.

-

Back at the jet we got Bucky in, and sat him down next to Steve and Sharon. I looked over with a blank face and watched Steve’s expression drop.

“What happened?” he snapped his gaze to Bucky.

“The agents know the trigger words,” Nat stated, “tried to wipe him mid fight.” She pushed the agent down onto the ground, “he’s heavy and most likely won’t wake up for another two hours. Where are we going anyways? Where have you guys been?”

“Uganda, Clint has been back in the states, you know where Wanda’s been. I’ve kept Scott with me and Sam. We’ve been here to keep a low profile and just in case Buck woke up or something happened.” Steve said.

“You didn’t hear about the attack on the Wakanda compound?” I replied. “It was what woke Bucky up in the first place.”

“We were on a mission,” One of the men interrupted. “Sam Wilson, Falcon, whatever you wanna call me.” He held out his hand and I shook it momentarily.

“Scott Lang” the other man chimed in as he raised his hand.

“Nice to meet you guys, hey Cap not that I have any prior relations with any of you or a reason to voice my input… don’t you think that we should make sure everyone else is okay? Tony and everyone back at the compound could be in danger if HYDRA is still lurking.” I regretted my words immediately when I noticed the looks I was getting from Sharon and Natasha.

“We can’t go there, they’ll have everyone locked up in a matter of minutes.” Natasha said. “You were the one who helped orchestrate this and now you want to turn your back on getting out of here?”

“No, that’s not what I meant I just. What if there were more agents?”

“They can handle themselves, Tony is a big boy Y/N.” Nat looked at me and I sighed. There was no point in fighting her on it. Silence hung in the air before Steve finally spoke up.

“A- uh Y/N? Can I speak with you for just a second?” I nodded, anticipating that by ‘talk to’ he meant send me on my way because I was a liability. We walked off to the back of the jet and sat down away from everyone else. I could hear Nat and Clint catching up while Sharon and Bucky continued some conversation from earlier in the week. But all of that fell to the background when I remembered that I was talking to the one and only Captain America.

“I think you’re right, we should see if everyone else is okay.” He began.

“Right and you want me to do it and stay behind?” I asked cutting to the chase.

“What? No, I mean I think you’re right, but I also think we need to do more than that. I think we should find a way to convince Tony to meet with us. Outside of the accords of course.”

“Oh, and you want me to do it?”

“No! Take it easy, I’m not trying to ask you a favor or give you an order. I’m just trying to say you’re right and… I also want to thank you. Bucky is the closest thing to family I have and Sharon told me a little of what you’ve done for him aside from helping put this together and I just can’t thank you enough for that.”

“I genuinely care for him,” I started, “there’s no need to thank me, I’m doing what I would do for anyone I care about." We shares a smile, "And depending on what you want from him, you might want to let me talk to Tony. Negotiator and all.”

“You’re going to be good for him.” Steve gave me a wink and a nod before walking back towards everyone else, announcing that he would be using his burner phone to call Tony once we were certain the compound was clear. Of course, when he said it everyone agreed that it was what was best. 

Natasha, Sharon, Clint, Steve and Bucky did checks all around the jungle and confirmed that there were no agents around looking to ambush a second time. The rest of us got things ready to go on the jet.

“So, the pretty agent likes the guy with the robot arm.” Sam looked my way, packing up all of our stuff we had brought with us.

“Yes, we’re friends... and he’s a good guy from the 1940’s underneath the brainwashing.”

“Yeah, so I’ve heard, I guess we’ll see.”

“Look, I know some people had issues with him. I know he’s hurt a lot of people and he’s easy to blame, but the man that is out there with my friends, with _your_ friends is a good guy. Do you know what it’s like to be forced to kill over and over and take a back seat in your own mind? No, so please just play nice or keep your mouth shut.” I snapped, immediately realizing the repercussions but all it elicited from Sam was a soft laugh.

“You know, you and Steve both want to see the best in everyone, but I think you top him… you seem to want _everyone_ to see the best in _everyone_.”

“I just want people to understand before judging.”

“You’re right, you’re right. My bad Y/N, I’ll keep my hateful comments out of your line of hearing.”

-

Once everything was good to go we lifted into the air and the jet was cloaked and put into stealth mode. No tracking could be done, but we weren’t trying to hide from Tony, not yet at least. We traveled and unpacked overnight at a small campsite in Uganda where some of Steve and his recruits had been staying. Once everyone was unpacked, Steve and I decided to take a walk with Natasha and talk to her about meeting with Tony and the next step in the plan.

“You want to what?” Natasha stopped in her tracks, her eyes flipping between Steve’s and my own.

“We want to get the gang back together?” I tried to joke, but to no avail. Natasha looked at me coldly before shaking her head and looking at Steve.

“You’re going to get us all locked up Steve, some of them for a second time.”

“Steve isn’t going to talk to him Nat,” I stepped between them, “I am.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Many. Ideas.   
> So. Much. Dialogue.   
> So. Many. Characters. 
> 
> I'm freaking y'all. But on a serious note, updates will most likely slow down (I'm sorry) due to me picking up a second job and personal life or whatever. Thanks for understanding you little beans <3


	14. A Lot Alike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tension rises, and when things get rough, Bucky shows a charming, caring side of himself.

**“You want to what?” Natasha stopped in her tracks, her eyes flipping between Steve’s and my own.**

**“We want to get the gang back together?” I tried to joke, but to no avail. Natasha looked at me coldly before shaking her head and looking at Steve.**

**“You’re going to get us all locked up Steve, some of them for a second time.”**

**“Steve isn’t going to talk to him Nat,” I stepped between them, “I am.”**

* * *

 

“Oh good, let’s let the runaway teenager talk to Tony instead of his ex-co-leader and friend.” She waved her arms around to emphasize how illogical it sounds.

“Look,” I offered, “Tony knows that I have a good head on my shoulders, he knows that you, Carter and Hill trusted me enough to bring me with. I think I can get him to agree to at least have a real conversation with us.”

“Just give it a shot, they still can’t get to us if it all goes wrong.” Steve chimed in and Nat’s face went blank. She looked at us back and forth a couple times before eventually nodding once.

“Fine, but listen I didn’t abandon SHIELD and switch sides just to get back there as a prisoner.”

“Fair point Romanoff.” Steve said. They both weakly laughed, and we headed back towards the jet.

-

When I recommended that Steve let me do the talking, I wasn’t anticipating that it would include telling everyone we were going to contact Tony and Hill. We were all sitting around Cap’s makeshift dining table- a couple of boxes with ratty cloth draped over it. To my left and Right were Steve and Nat respectively, there to support me. The strange thing is I was nervous the majority of the time when it came to negotiating, but I was also usually confident that I would accomplish at least the minimum goal.

“So, Steve and Y/N have made an executive decision and Y/N is better with words, so she’ll be taking you through their thought process on this.” Nat broke the silence and nodded to me to take over.

I stood up, standing at the head of the table and glanced over the makeshift team of Secret Avengers in front of me. Black Widow, Captain America, Hawkeye, Bucky Barnes, The Scarlett Witch, Flacon, Ant-Man and Sharon Carter were concentrated on me, all waiting to hear me of all people hand out a plan.

“We know that this is HYDRA. They’ve attacked the compound before and Stark and Parker have been using King T’Challa’s resources to replicate a piece of their technology. Vision has been learning the lands and history or doing whatever vision does.” Wanda smiled at the mention of Vision, and laughed at the fact that no one was really sure what he did. No one understood him completely except for her.

“Hill, Sharon and I have been talking to Fury,” I continued on now pacing around the table, “and he’s agreed to send agents, jets, resources. He even offered to have Wanda swing by to grab Clint and come out to help before you two went on your ‘mission.’ The point I’m making is that we’re ill-equipped for a fight with HYDRA. I am looking at eight of the best fighters and heroes I know, but all I can think about is how there are five more back at the compound.”

“So you’re suggesting that we all go back to the people you just had us get you away from?” Clint asked sarcastically. Him and Scott giggled like schoolgirls at the irony.

“I know, I know you just risked a bunch to help us out.” I said before turning my attention to Bucky, “but now that we know they can still wipe one of our own, and that they’re planning something nearby, we need to be working together.” I walked back to the head of the table and looked at everyone before me, “You guys are a team of superheroes and it’s time to get your shit together.”

Everyone looked at Steve for what I thought was validation, but he just rolled his eyes and laughed. Noticing mine and Bucky’s confused look, Natasha offered us a brief explanation.

“Captain America doesn’t like strong language, it’s not very hero-like.” She playfully threw the end of the sentence at him and he chuckled before taking my place at the head of the table.

“We’re going to video-chat Stark in the morning, and I don’t know what will follow. Put your faith in Y/N for now and we’ll deal with the outcome… together.”

As we all dispersed among the campsite, Natasha walked with me and slung her arms around my shoulder. “You know,” she said, “if I didn’t know any better I’d say you have some pretty strong leadership qualities.” I laughed at her praise, knowing that I could never ask anyone to follow my lead.

“You seem awfully nice and… happy? Is that a happy black widow?”

“Funny, I have emotions you know. I’m just glad you’re finding where you belong in all this, you used to look so lost back in New York. It’s like finding this problem and coming up with a solution is bringing you back to yourself.”

“Jesus, Nat. You don’t have to go all psychiatrist on me, I just think a team… I think it’d be best-”

She chuckled, and her arm left my shoulders, she turned to face me and spoke sincerely. “You and Steve are a lot alike.”

“If one more person tells me that…”

“I just mean you both are at your best when you’re working towards something you believe in.” She smiled again and looked behind me. She smiled and ran off and once I turned around I immediately understood what she was doing.

“Hey.” Bucky looked at me with a smile.

“Why is everyone so happy? Are you not nervous?” I snapped. How is it that everyone but me was just completely fine with everything that could happen with Tony?

“I am nervous, but if it’s my last night as a free soldier then why spend it upset? Plus, I’ve got you.” He reached out his hands and wrapped them around my waist, pulling me towards him. I forgot all my nerves as I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and looked up into his eyes.

“You’re quite the charmer, James Barnes.”

“It’s Bucky.” He tickled my side a little bit, causing me to squirm in his grip, “and I am a charmer.”

“So where are you tonight?” I asked, looking around at all the makeshift bunks.

“Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that.” He separated from me and put his hands behind his back, dropping his expression to a much more serious one. “…do you, want to… share a tent? I know you’re upset about Tony and the rest of them and I don’t want to make your mind more confusing. I just sleep better if you’re there.”

“Bucky, I would really like that... don’t be silly, you’re one of the good things I’ve got going.” I closed the distance between us again and put my hand on his cheek, the other on his side. I felt cool metal on the small of my back pulling our bodies as close as possible. Before closing the gap between our mouths, I smiled wide. This was my reality now, I was Bucky’s girl and he was my guy.

-

When we got to our tent we immediately curled up and drifted off to sleep, after the long day it was no problem even with the nervousness of what was coming. I woke up about halfway through the night and thought about what I could say the following day to make Tony see it our way. I wasn’t afraid of Tony saying no, I was afraid of him being hurt by my leaving, or by Nat and Sharon’s leaving.

My stirring must have caused Bucky to wake up, because suddenly I felt him shifting and then he places a few kisses on my shoulder.

“What’s wrong Y/N?”

“Nothing, I just can’t sleep.” I turned around to face him, and even though it was dark I could imagine his broody face frowning at me.

“Is it Tony?” I didn’t say anything, prompting him to pull my face to his chest and wrap his arms around me. I didn’t even hold back, I cried for what seemed like a year.

“I’m so t-torn. I-I. I just abandoned him, and now I’m going to wake up and t-tell him?”

“He’ll get over it. He got over everything between me and him.”

“You didn’t do those things though. I-I abandoned him, I did it.”

“Oh, doll.” He started to rub my back to soothe me, but it wasn’t working, the guilt that had been eating away at me finally fought its way to the surface.

Bucky continued to hold me, and I continued to cry until I fell back asleep. I don’t know how much time I spent sobbing, and I don’t remember how many times I heard Bucky sigh, all I knew was that I wasn't cut out for the internal conflict that went with this job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally am so sorry it's forever between chapters, I'm trying!!


	15. Incoming Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The New Avengers (Cap and his crew) make an effort to work with Stark and his associates to plan a meeting- behind closed doors so the UN won't use the accords to arrest everyone.

**“He’ll get over it. He got over everything between me and him.”**

**“You didn’t do those things though. I-I abandoned him, I did it.”**

**“Oh, doll.” He started to rub my back to soothe me, but it wasn’t working, the guilt that had been eating away at me finally fought its way to the surface.**

**Bucky continued to hold me, and I continued to cry until I fell back asleep. I don’t know how much time I spent sobbing, and I don’t remember how many times I heard Bucky sigh, all I knew was that I was not cut out for the internal conflict that went with this job.**

* * *

 

There were two loud beeps that woke me up. I was still locked into Bucky’s embrace, he reached over and turned off the alarm before releasing me and standing up. I followed with my eyes as he walked to his bag, pulled out clothes and began to change. I stood up and did the same, taking my clothes out and facing away from him. I lifted my shirt over my head and threw it into my bag leisurely. If it were any other person in the room, I would feel self-conscious undressing, but with Bucky, I didn’t care if he was looking or not. Mid thought, I felt a mixture of cold and warm wrapping around my body.

“You’re going to be okay Y/N. No matter the outcome, you’re not alone. And I'll be here if it all goes south.” He planted a soft kiss to my shoulder and left me to change. A shiver ran up my spine and I let out a deep sigh. Ultimately I knew he would be my undoing.

-

In the jet, as we gathered around the dashboard I sat between a calm and collected Captain America and a more tense than usual Black Widow. Behind us in a line stood Wanda, Scott, Sam, Bucky, Clint, and Sharon. Natasha linked the communication signal to a tower in Liski, Russia, a small city in the center of the country. After she was finished she gave me the go-ahead and I pressed the call button before I had a chance to back out.

It rang for exactly four seconds before video was patched through.

“This is Ton-“ he started before spinning around to see what was in front of him. Without another word, he disconnected. There was a collection of sighs from behind me, but I knew Tony. He wasn’t refusing to speak with us, he was giving himself time.

“Wait,” I said as Nat went to push the call button again, “can he call back?”

“Yeah, he has that option now, it's like redial but do you really think he'll just get curious and call back? He's probably trying to break through my illusion and find our actual location.” She gave me a quizzical look.

“Let him have some time.”

We stood there for twenty minutes before we were graced with the sound of an incoming video call. I pressed accept and soon, staring back at us was Tony, Maria Hill, Peter Parker, Vision, T’Challa, and now even Rhodes was there. Tony was smiling, as if he knew every detail of what I was about to say.

“Agent Y/L/N. Romanoff. Carter. You’re all in pretty big trouble you know.” He chuckled, but it wasn’t a dark chuckle with anger, it was light.

“Tony, listen-“

“No agent, _you’re_ going to listen to _me_ , you’re all going to listen. You come back here, you bring Barnes, and maybe, _maybe_ we’ll let you off with a minimal sentencing.”

“I’m not going to do that Tony, we’re not coming back to surrender.” I gave a hand motion behind me to leave me alone. Everyone stepped to the back of the jet, out of direct view of the video chat.

Tony slammed his hands down on the desk in front of him and looked to both his sides. Those behind him left him alone as well.

“I’m sorry I left but I didn’t know how to get you to agree.”

“Agree to what? Letting I, Robot leave to reunite with all the other war criminals?”

“No, I mean... I wouldn’t put it that way.”

“Y/N. This is big, this is very bad. Everyone and their mother know that your little boyfriend is awake, and if it gets out that he’s loose- that he left with _you_ to run to the people the entire world’s defensive forces are trying to apprehend? It’s not just his life on the line now, it’s yours. How could you leave like that knowing you could never stop looking over your shoulder? How could you just-“

“Abandon you?” I started, “Tony I’m _so_ sorry. The truth is, I spent all the time we were planning this debating on whether I was going to leave. Every time I thought maybe I should go I kept thinking of you and Pepper and how good you’ve been to me. I kept thinking of how much you confided in me with everything and how far you’ve come with your conflicts. I have been so guilty but this is the right thing. There are still bad guys out there that the UN just doesn’t see or care for going after. HYDRA is out there and the UN hasn’t even gotten back to us. They don’t care about anything but immediate threats, and they don’t realize that HYDRA _is_ the immediate threat.”

“What are you talking about?” Tony’s demeanor switched from angry to intrigued.

“They still know the words to trigger Bucky and they’re planning something... I don't know what but, we got attacked right outside one of the tunnels under the compound. I was about to be killed when Bucky and Nat saved me, and they started spewing the words.”

“Lemme speak to Captain Crunch.” He said, crossing his arms and looking behind him. Everyone stepped back into view of the camera, faces displaying all kinds of mixed feelings. I turned around and waved everyone forward but they were already stepping back up.

“Tony.” Steve said.

“Captain, looking a little scruffy.” He replied, the two looked at each other for a long time. Way too long to go without speaking, but then the silence was broken.

“I’m sorry, Tony. I know I keep inching my way up the list of most wanted.”

“You are the list of most wanted, you and all those friends of yours.”

“Friends of ours, Tony.” Silence again, for what seemed like an eternity, both of them searching for the words to say.

“I suppose this means you want to meet, against the wishes of the accords?” Tony chuckled.

“I won’t make you do anything, but if you’re not with us-“

“Then I’m against you, yeah I’ve heard that one before, bright eyes.” He took a long pause, looking down and away from the camera with his arms crossed. When he finally spoke, he let out a big sigh. “Well everyone, look around and get to know the people you’re with because we’re all going to rot away together when this is over.”

-

The meeting was to take place almost immediately. We loaded up the jet and flew back to the spot we left in Wakanda. Before we knew it, we landed, and we were ready to march back up to the compound. Steve walked out of the jet first with his chest puffed up and a proud posture as he walked, Sharon was right beside him encouraging him to play nice. Natasha followed him, tense and on high alert as usual accompanied by a laid back and sarcastic Clint. Behind them were Scott and Wanda walking and laughing like everything wasn’t going to hell. Sam was trailing behind them keeping to himself, same smirk as he always wore beamed towards the surroundings as if he were admiring a vacation spot.

Bucky and I were last, partially because I was too nervous to stand up when the bay door opened and partially because I wanted to cling to Buck without anyone seeing. It wasn’t like it was a secret that we had been spending time together, and if anyone didn’t know what had been happening, I’m sure that Sharon and Nat would have filled them in by now. There was just something inappropriate to me about canoodling in front of everyone- especially Captain America.

Bucky rested his arm around my shoulders and reassured me while we walked that everything would be okay and that I had done a great job getting Tony to agree to a meeting.

“We could all get locked up, you realize that, right? And it will all be my fault.” I mumbled.

“Well, then we’ll blame Steve.” Bucky said, patting my back and smiling before running up ahead to talk to Steve and Sharon.

I kept my spot in the back, tense and nervous. I looked at the ground and listened as I heard Wanda’s laughter, followed by Clint arguing that Wakanda wasn’t ‘all it’s cracked up to be.’ Suddenly my concentration and my gaze on the ground in front of me was broken.

“You’ll be alright, even if they want to lock us all up.” Sam Wilson. He caught me off guard and for a moment I just stared at him, then I nodded.

“I’m not worried about me. I broke out a war criminal and set him free, now I’m taking him right back to his imprisonment, along with the few people on this planet that are doing the right thing… if it is the right thing.”

“Oh, it’s the right thing, you think Cap would do anything to hurt his perfect moral record?”

“No,” I chuckled, “I suppose not.”

“If we all get sent to prison cells today, you’re not going to be the one we blame. So stop stressing out, your broody boyfriend is looking especially sad now that you’re upset.”

“He’s not- Yeah, thanks Sam I’ll try to relax.”

Then the compound was in sight. In front _Relax… yeah, right_.

We continued to walk towards the compound and I stayed silent the rest of the way hearing birds chirping and leaves rustling. If not for the situation at hand, this place might even be a great vacation spot. It’s a quiet beauty surrounded by a bustling chaos, a place for super heroes, no doubt.

As we approached the actual compound, the king was standing accompanied by his usual companions and James Rhodes, back in action after the airport ordeal for the first time. We exchanged greetings, Steve and the king shaking hands and saying thank you, Sam apologizing to Rhodes and complimenting his new tech, courtesy of Tony himself.

T’Challa spoke to us about Tony and his internal conflict. He believes that the accords will never allow us to “And Ms. Y/L/N, Stark has asked to speak to you before seeing everyone else.”

“Right..” I started, this was going to be a shit show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI. I'm so so sorry that i've abandoned you all (ironic considering the convo in this chapter.) Things have just been busy and I haven't had time to write but now I'm home with nothing planned for 4 days so I should be cranking out another few chapters to upload. 
> 
> Things are about to get good aka I devised a twist in my plot and I'm super proud of it. 
> 
> Love you all, thanks for being supportive. <3


	16. Iron Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little insight to how Tony dealt with everyone's disappearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay sooooo this is reunion time, next chapter is some feelsy stuff (just a warning).

**As we approached the actual compound, the king was standing accompanied by his usual companions and James Rhodes, back in action after the airport ordeal for the first time. We exchanged greetings, Steve and the king shaking hands and saying thank you, Sam apologizing to Rhodes and complimenting his new tech, courtesy of Tony himself.**

**T’Challa spoke to us about Tony and his internal conflict. He believes that the accords will never allow us to “And Ms. Y/L/N, Stark has asked to speak to you before seeing everyone else.”**

**“Right..” I started, this was going to be a shit show.**

* * *

 

Walking into the conference room was an entirely new experience this time around. Before it was a place of work and excitement that maybe we would have a breakthrough that would allow us to finish the fight and go home. Now it felt like the walls were talking and it seemed darker. Tony sat in the furthest chair from the entrance, silently zoned out. T’Challa cleared his throat and then turned to leave before giving me a small nod.

“Y/L/N. Tell me one thing, just a yes or a no and we’ll leave it at that. Do you love him? Or at least feel something for him? I-I mean all… all of this trouble for a guy you met twenty seconds ago.”

“I don’t love him.” I said, Tony shot me a look of surprise and hurt filled him, then I continued, “but I’m starting to.” He smiled and nodded.

“You know, I don’t even know that Pepper would spring me from jail if I was sent off, not that I would blame her.”

“Maybe jail would finally make her the center of your world.” I joked. Tony let out a laugh, a genuine laugh and it filled the room as he walked over and slung his arm around me to walk to the others.

“So, are you… Bonnie, or Clyde?” Iron Man, the class clown.

-

I walked out first, partially because I knew Tony didn’t want to, and partially because my own nerves were setting in. I wasn’t sure where we were all going from here and I just wanted to be back around Sharon and Bucky.

I took a seat on the ground next to Nat and Sharon, followed by Bucky sitting down and quietly asking if I was alright, I nodded, and Tony started to emerge from the doors. Everyone was waiting for him in a large circle of heroes, him acting as the final member to the nights of the round table or something you see in an intense movie seen where old friends conduct business together illegally.

“It’s good to see you Captain Ahab, I see you’ve found your white whale.” He looked over at Bucky for a moment.

“It’s good to see you too, Tony.” Steve replied, ignoring the reference he obviously didn’t understand.

“So, if you two are done s-“ Nat started but she was interrupted.

“I don’t like this,” Tony started, “going behind the accords, it could get all of us sent to prison. But we’ve been here for months and we have no good leads, no evidence besides a rubik’s cube that wipe out the electrical grid of a high-tech base, and no immediate support from Fury or the rest of the ‘New SHIELD’ program. So if you’ve got a plan. I suggest you start talking.” He backed up and crossed his arms. What happened next was surprising to everyone.

“I don’t have a plan.” Steve admitted, “This is the first I’ve heard of anything going on here. I’m not the man for this job.”

“But you do know HYDRA Steve.” Sharon spit out.

“Not as well as Buck does, if he couldn’t crack their code, I doubt I could.”

“Well what _do_ we know about HYDRA besides the whole everyone-needs-to-die thing?” Wilson asked.

“They run on fear, it’s like the more fear in the world, the more they win.” Bucky chimed in.

“So how do we stop them? Stop fear? Cause that’s just insane, everyone is afraid of something.” Scott said.

“Maybe we don’t try to stop it” I stood up and started to pace. “Maybe we use it to our advantage.”

“Y/L/N.” Maria began, “you don’t fight fire with fire.”

“Actually, forest fires are fought with fire, just enough to burn a line….”

“Because it takes away the fire’s feul.” Peter finished, “So we use controlled fear to take away their fuel.”

“Exactly Parker, take away their driving force and what’s left?” I started to smile wide like I had already saved the world. I looked over to Tony and the king.

“Boys,” I said, “we need to hold a meeting with the UN. I have a plan.”

“Y/N, you can’t. They’ll arrest you all.” Wanda spoke up, “anyone who ever ran from the accords that wasn’t pardoned will be taken away.” Vision looked at her and agreed, stating that even Tony couldn’t talk our way out of it if things went wrong.

“Then so be it, I can plan around that.” I said. “If you want to save Wakanda and the rest of the world, we may not be able to save ourselves. I’m okay with that, but if you all aren’t, I understand.”

“I’m in. You had me before you started talking.” Sam said, eliciting a smug look from Bucky in the process.

“I’m in too.” Bucky said quietly, “I’ve been in and out of cells and chambers for decades, I’d like to be a part of the action again.” Steve smiled brightly at the remark.

“Well if everyone else is jumping off the cliff.” Natasha smirked.

“You know Cap is down for the ‘right thing’ so count him in.” Sam slapped Steve on the back and they chuckled.

“Yeah, Alright! I’m in too.” Scott said, putting his hand in the middle. He looked around and a look of regret sprawled on his face. .

“This isn’t a sports movie Scott.” Clint joked and looked at Tony and Maria, “He’s new.”

Everyone looked around and at each other for a few seconds before Steve and Tony finally shook hands and exchanged “I’m sorry” “I know” and some other words. We all walked into the compound, ate dinner and caught up, Steve and Tony staying tense the entire time. You could tell there was so much between them that needed to be said, after all the lies and secrets between them how could they lead a team?

“Are you okay?” My thoughts were interrupted by Sharon passing me a plate of potatoes.

“I’m fine- just thinking.”

“About?”

“The plan, if we can pull it off”

“Bull.”

“What?”

“I know what that look was, it wasn’t planning. It was concern, and scheming.”

“I’m not scheming, relax.”

I passed the plate to Bucky before diverting my attention to Sharon again. I caught a glimpse of Bucky’s face, he was cold and emotionless, as if we were back to before everyone had made amends.

“I want in if you are.” Nat said from across the table, quietly enough to be certain only we could catch it. I smiled and took another plate from Sharon. Part of me was hopeful that after everything was said and done, we could be a team… all of us.

-

I was walking down the hall to my room- or rather my cell, where I was confined ‘until further notice.’ Maria ran to catch up to me and spoke quietly.

“Hey, can I borrow you?” She had a blank face, like usual. It made me wonder whether or not this was a good conversation awaiting me but I nodded anyways, it would be a lot better than sitting in my room until we heard from the UN.

We walked into the surveillance room and she sat me in front of the only television turned off. She flipped it on to reveal Tony in a chair at the conference table going over paperwork.

“Whenever you’re ready just press play,” she said, “I’ll be outside making sure no one bothers you.

“Thanks Maria.” I smiled at her and turned to the TV before asking, “Why am I watching this?”

“This is the moment Tony learned you had all left. I think you need to see it, to really… understand his hesitance.”

My heart sank to my stomach, as I picked up the remote I let out a deep sigh. I pressed play and Maria walked into the room on camera with a concerned face.


	17. Stuck on You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader learns why Tony was so upset, Bucky and her go on a date.

**“Whenever you’re ready just press play,” she said, “I’ll be outside making sure no one bothers you.**

**“Thanks Maria.” I smiled at her and turned to the TV before asking, “Why am I watching this?”**

**“This is the moment Tony learned you had all left. I think you need to see it, to really… understand his hesitance.”**

**My heart sank to my stomach, as I picked up the remote I let out a deep sigh. I pressed play and Maria walked into the room on camera with a concerned face.**

* * *

 

“Sir,” Maria started, “They’re gone.”

“Who? I need more than ‘they’ agent Hill.”

“The Winter Soldier,” I cringed at her still referring to him that way, “him, Carter, Romanoff, and Y/L/N have all been unaccounted for.”

Tony said nothing, he didn’t even look up from his paper. He just nodded and said “Okay.” Maria left the frame of the video and then Tony put down his papers, laced his fingers together and rested his forehead on his hands. For a few moments everything was silent, and he sat there like that. Then his demeaner changed as he stood abruptly and threw his chair across the room, knocking over and breaking a few decorations. He was… was he crying?

“Mr. Stark, are you alright?” Vision entered the room by phasing through a wall, “I gather by your actions that something has deeply upset you.”

“Vision get out of here and use the door. Please.”

“It is unwise to leave you alone in such a state.”

Tony looked at him and it allowed me to see his face. He was crying, suddenly my guilt multiplied.

“I can understand Romanoff, I mean how many times has she run away?” Tony started, “And agent Carter is practically hypnotized by Rogers, runs in the family I suppose. Barnes, well who didn’t see that coming, he’s probably more in love with Rogers than Sharon is… but Y/N?” He sat in a different chair, just staring off at a wall.

“Perhaps, considering all the things she had learned about Rogers, Barnes and the rest of what occurred before the accords were put in motion… her judgement was askew.”

“No, that’s not it. What happened is she got the rest of the story, and she chose her side just like they all did.” He threw his papers off the table. “She is on that side, because she- she knows it’s the right choice. On that side, she can save people without being on the UN’s leash. She’s just like Rogers, every life is important, letting the government decide which threats we deal with? No, that’s not her style.”

“You’re upset that she is trying to do the right thing?”

“I’m upset, Vision, because she didn’t say goodbye. Even Rogers left a note.”

And there it was, everything I thought I knew about Tony Stark went down the drain. The video ended after Vision nodded and turned to leave, I stood up and ran past Maria out the door. I could feel tears burning the corners of my eyes as I rushed down hallways and stairwells, bumping right into Steve.

“Y/N what’s going on, is everything-“

“It’s fine, have you seen Tony?”

“I-He’s in the lab…” I ran before he even finished.

“Thanks Steve!” I yelled behind me as I turned down the hall to the lab. The doors opened as I approached, Peter smiled at me briefly and walked out as I walked in. Tony was facing away from me working on something.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye.” I said quietly. He didn’t turn around, but he stopped whatever he was doing momentarily.

“I’m sorry Tony, I should have left a note, I should have told someone to give one to you or left it in your room, but I didn’t. Up until the second we left, I thought about turning around.”

“But you didn’t.” He turned around, and his eyes began to get a little puffy. “You didn’t turn around, you just ran off with them.”

“I can’t take that back, I can’t.” I started to cry, “Tony with what’s happened to me in my life I should hate everything, I should hate everyone. After my mom died in New York- I didn’t blame you like everyone else. The Avengers didn’t kill my mother, the aliens that Loki brought down did. The Avengers couldn’t save everyone, and I thought- maybe if I joined SHIELD I could be that extra hand to save one or two more people. But it’s been months and months since those accords were signed and we have done _nothing._ I thought going with Bucky and Sharon might allow me to save someone, to do something to fill this hole in me.” I wasn’t even sure I was audible at the end, but Tony heard every word. He stepped forward and spoke slowly, and quietly.

“You should hate everyone, and part of the reason I liked having you around was you didn’t. With everything this world has done to you, you’re still trying to save it. The Avengers was a team comprised of people that felt the same way.”

I looked up at him with tears streaming. He handed me a cloth to wipe them and then leaned against one of the tables.

“I’ve made mistakes, Ultron was my bad. I made the decision to follow the accords without talking to the team first. I have made bad calls, and I’ve done things that weren’t worth it in the end. You, becoming such a part of the team- moving you to the compound. That was the first thing I had done right in ages, you were the breath of fresh are- someone who didn’t know all of the chaos. You reminded us all of how great this job can be. I am not mad at you Y/N, I’m mad at myself for putting everyone in this position. The world is falling apart and we’re arguing over a law that won’t even matter if we allow HYDRA to win.”

“We won’t, my plan is going to draw them out, and we’ll be ready for them.” I said confidently, “we’re like the new and improved Avengers.”

“Now with 20% more angst.” Tony gave me a pat on the shoulder as expected. But then he did something a little unexpected as I was walking out.

“I’m sorry I kept you in the dark.” He said, I was about to turn and tell him it was okay… he knew though.

-

The next morning, the bans on our privileges were lifted. We could now go training, go to the lab without restricted access, and more importantly we could leave the compound to walk the grounds outside.

“Hey Barnes,” I said from the doorway to his room, “get your butt out of bed and take your gal on a walk, huh?”

He smiled, his bright blue eyes looked me up and down. For the first time, I wasn’t in workout clothes or my SHIELD uniform. I was in a long, flowy dress. It was a strapless one reaching below my knees, black with pink and red flowers. He got up and walked over to me, placing his hands on my hips pulling me closer. He smiled and moved his right hand to my face, pulling me in for a sweet kiss.

“Let me change, you’re going to make me look bad.” He laughed and moved me out of the doorway. I waited for him, thinking of how normal this felt. Like we were back home about to just walk around.

“Alright doll,” he said from inside the room, “Steve got me these clothes just in case I needed them when I woke up, so no laughing alright?” I turned around and looked into the room, laughing anyways once I saw him.

He was wearing a black collared shirt, buttoned up with no tie, tucked into black dress pants with black shoes. I walked over and to him and slip my hands down his arms as he gave me a sad face, faking offense at my laughter.

“I see we have a dark color theme here, surprising coming from the man who wears red, white, and blue daily.” I joked as I straightened his collar for him. I rested my hands on his chest once I was done and we smiled at each other.

“I think… he thought I wouldn’t wear any color.” Bucky chuckled lightly, “You know, this is the most normal I’ve felt in the last hundred years.”

“Yeah, and with that statement, this is the most abnormal I’ve felt.” I stood on my toes to give him another quick kiss and then took his left hand in my right. “Now I believe, you promised this girl a walk.”

“Alright, alright, let’s scram.” He bumped my shoulder and we started walking to the exit of the compound.

-

Walking around Wakanda was an amazing experience, while the back of the compound was all nature, in front was T’Challa’s palace or home or whatever it was considered, and in front of that was bustling city life. Under the circumstances, we felt comfortable enough showing our faces. The people were loyal to the king and if anyone were to notify someone of our existence it would be him, leaving us with no consequence for now.

We both looked around as we walked down the streets, passing tall building after building watching people walk around and shop, kids running away from parents laughing. We came across a nightclub where people were dancing on a platform that opened up to the outside. Bucky shook his head and laughed.

“What’s so funny?” I asked him as we continued walking.

“That up there,” he nodded towards the club, “that’s not how you dance, that’s just a bunch of dead hoofers.” I looked at him confused, “Bad dancers.”

“Oh, right.” I laughed, “well, come on wise guy let’s show em how it’s done.” I pulled him back into the club and walked up to the DJ. For a generous tip, he was willing to put on some swing music. He announced to everyone that there was a special request for and ‘oldie’ which made Bucky cringe and that everyone was encouraged to join in.

I walked back to Buck and looped my arms around his neck. He shook his head and took both of my hands in his and started to alternate pushing and pulling them, causing use to sway, then he slowly taught me how to move with the music, spinning me around, teaching me to incorporate kicking. He wasn’t kidding when he said he loved to dance, and I’m sure in his old uniform it was a sight. We picked up a rhythm and danced while people surrounded us clapping and smiling. Once the song was over, everyone flooded back to the dancefloor and we stood there for a minute just smiling at each other. I took his hand and led him out of the club around the corner and turned to face him, walking backwards slowly.

“Now what are you doing?” He asked me. I came to a full stop and he bumped into me and our eyes met. Without skipping a beat he put his left arm around my waist, tangled his right hand in my hair and kissed me, dipping me backwards, my feet all but left the ground for a moment causing my weight supported only by his arm around my waist. The kiss was different than all the others. There was a neediness to it that went along with this side of Bucky that I hadn’t seen in full swing. He lifted me back to my feet and broke the kiss, pressing his forehead against mine.

“What was that for?” I asked breathlessly.

“Y/N, do you remember when you gave me that phone, what you said before you left?”

“I don’t.” I looked up at him concerned but he was smiling. I almost missed what he said next once I caught a glimpse of his eyes.

“You told me not to get stuck on you.” He moved his hands back to mine and brought them up around his neck, letting them go, I must have made a funny face because then he started to laugh.

“What?!” I asked, starting to laugh with him, “Well? Go on. I told you not to get stuck on me.”

“Right,” He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close. He looked down at me and said, “I unrepentantly did exactly the opposite.”

“Yeah?” I laughed at his confidence.

“Yeah, and it’s the only thing keeping me going right now.”

“I bet you got a lot of girl with that charm, huh?

“None like you doll, not any that made me myself the way you do.”

I smiled and jumped to wrap my legs around his torso, he caught me no problem. I leaned in and kissed him with everything I had. Sure, there were people around but for a few minutes, we were normal people and not these superheroes with jobs that go around 24/7.

“I’m stuck on you too, Sergeant.”

“You know,” he smiled at me and then looked around at the city lights, “I could get used to this.”

“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am trying, guys. I have lost a little motivation but I'm slowly getting it back. School is just kickin my butt right now.


	18. I'm Am Yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You lay it out for Buck, and the UN makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) Black Panther has been my obsession and while I want to include more from the movie, we're leaving Wakanda, BOO. Sorry it's been forever, life you know? I'm changing the direction of this anyways, so it's been a lot of re-writing and planning.

**I smiled and jumped to wrap my legs around his torso, he caught me no problem. I leaned in and kissed him with everything I had. Sure, there were people around but for a few minutes, we were normal people and not these superheroes with jobs that go around 24/7.**

**“I’m stuck on you too, Sergeant.”**

**“You know,” he smiled at me and then looked around at the city lights, “I could get used to this.”**

**“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing.”**

* * *

 

The rest of the night went just as well, walking around and taking in all the sights that Wakanda had to offer us. I felt like a 15-year-old on her first real date, the way my stomach filled with butterflies. We continued to walk throughout the streets, taking in the vibrant colors and talking about our lives before everything happened. With Bucky, everything seemed like it was going to be okay. When we finally got back to the compound, Steve and Tony were outside talking. Not wanting to give away our presence I pulled Buck close to the wall and shushed him. We listened in on the conversation between the two with nervous feelings, worried this would be a discussion about what happens after we catch HYDRA.

“I just don’t know what to do here Tony,” Steve said, “I don’t want to see anyone throw their lives away.”

“That’s not your choice Cap.” Tony sighed and looked Steve in the eyes. “If they want to follow Y/N into battle, you gotta let em. You can’t blame them either... she’s got a way with words.”

“You always did pick interesting employees, Stark. Romanoff and now this one?”

“What can I say? I like em a little edgy, a little more…. Independent. She’s a good kid though, can’t understand how she’s with Barnes.”

“Barnes was a good kid too, Tony. He used to pull me out of my fights. Believe it or not _I_ was the troublemaker between the two of us.”

“I just worry she’s trying to fix him, and I’m even more worried that when she’s not able to it’ll crush her. She puts everyone before herself and the inability to accept defeat combines with her sympathy for just about every living thing. It will break her.”

Bucky tensed at his words, not wanting to hear anymore he walked away. I chased after him down the hallways calling his name.

“Bucky! Hold on! Buck!” He whipped around, causing me to run right into him. “What are you doing?”

“Are you trying to fix me?” He said through his teeth, his eyes were starting to water.

“Oh, Buck. No, of course not.” I placed my hands on his cheeks, stroking the worry away from his eyes. “I’ll take you whole, in half, dismembered. I mean, maybe not dismembered, but the point is, whether your trigger words are temporary or permanent, whether they can get this stuff out of you... I will still be here for you, however you wish that to be, I am yous, James Barnes.”

“I-“ He started, but instead of continuing he wrapped me up in a hug and hoisted me up. I instinctively wrapped my legs around him and he started walking.

“Where…” I was interrupted.

“I need you with me tonight, doll. It’s the only way I’m gonna sleep.” He smiled at me, his blue eyes still glistening from the almost tears. It hit me at that moment, the realization that I was the first person he had opened up to since Steve. He trusted me, and he was afraid to lose me. I nuzzled my face into the crook of his neck and let him carry me off.

Once we were at his room, I put my feet back on the ground and kissed him. He kissed back hard. His tongue licked at my lips causing me to giggle. He smiled against my mouth and then trailed kisses down my neck to my collarbone. A small sigh left me as I rolled my head to the side to give him more room to work. My hands found their way to his back, pulling him closer. Before I knew it there was a warmth spreading throughout my core. He tangled one hand up in my hair and used the other on my hip to guide me down onto the bed.

“Bucky… I…” I said nervously, causing him to separate.

“What is it? We can stop if you… I don’t want you to think I’m…” I started to laugh at him, moving the hair out of his face.

“It’s not that, I just. Thank you for walking around Wakanda with me. It was beautiful, and tonight was really, honestly, it was perfect.”

“For you? Anytime, doll.” He smiled warmly and stood up.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To change for bed. Or convince myself to wake up from this dream.” He entered his bathroom and I sat up on the bed.

“We’re not…?” I said quietly to myself. But then I saw Bucky reemerge from the bathroom with a devilish grin. He jumped back on the bed crawling back up to me, laying kisses on my stomach and arms.

“I heard that.” He whispered between kisses, and then he looked into my eyes, “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable with…” He lifted his metal hand up for a moment. “…so if you need me to back off just say so.”

But I didn’t say so, not once.

-

When I woke up, Bucky was already awake and smiling at me.

“You know, you look a lot better in these than I do.” He said, referring to one of his black t-shirts he lent me for the night. “But you could have just slept out of it. No one was going to come in here.”

“Right, you know that for sure?” I said with a sarcastic smile.

“Yeah, I do.”

“And how could you know that?”

“You and Steve are the only ones that come a knockin’, and he knows better than to bother me at night.” He winked at me.

I hit him playfully at the joke, “You ass!”

“What? I’m still a man, and it’s been seventy somethin’ years.”

“Stop, I can’t believe you’re saying this right now.” I made and attempt to turn away from him, succeeding only to have him pull my back flush against his chest, locking his right arm around me.

“No! Bucky stop!” I spit out as he used his left to tickle my ribs. I wiggled my way out and stood up to gather my clothes.

“Shit.” I said to myself. Then I turned to look back at Bucky.

“What is it?” He asked.

“If I walk back in either one of these,” I gestured to my dress and his shirt, “anyone who see’s me is gonna know I’m on a walk of shame. I’m not ready for that humiliation.”

Bucky got up, laughing at me in the process, and pulled on his pants.

“I will get some clothes for you, what’s your room?” He walked over and put a kiss on my forehead.

“H-1 I think, there’s a blue painting right next to the door.” I kissed his cheek and smiled. He pulled on a shirt and walked out of the room. I walked over to his desk and picked up the little journal Steve had left him. My curiosity peaked, and I opened it up. The first page was the note from Steve.

_Bucky,_

_I know that you chose to go under to protect everyone, but just let me start by saying that I could really use you right now. It’s been a couple weeks and everything is fine, but I can’t stop thinking about how you’re there in Wakanda missing out on all of this action, and all the girls._

I laughed a little at the girl-crazy Bucky that Steve was thinking of when he wrote the note.

_I hope I’m there when you wake up, I haven’t been in contact with T’Challa much. From what I hear they’ve been going through a bit of struggle themselves. This book will be the first thing he gets from me in over two weeks. But whether I’m there or not, I need you to know that I miss you, you Jerk. I hope you wake up soon, I hope they find a way to make you better._

_Your Friend,_

_Steve._

I flipped to the next page, where it was in Russian. I used my phone to take a picture of it. The next couple pages were a combination of Russian and English. Words like ‘solution’ and ‘help’ and Steve’s name. Once the pages were littered with English words I gathered that this was a book of listed reasons, entry by entry, to hold on. Steve’s name was on all of them. The further in, the more reasons.

_Entry 29_

_Escape. Food. Steve. Outside. Help._

_Entry 36_

_Y/N’s kindness. Books. Training. Steve’s plan. Tony’s forgiveness. Wakanda’s food. T’Challa’s help._

I skipped to more recent entries to see how much he had gained.

_Entry 120_

_Y/N’s smile. Steve’s return. Natasha’s understanding. Scott’s terrible joke’s. Parker’s Hopefulness. Tony’s Forgiveness. Everyone’s help. Wakanda’s beauty. Freedom._

And then I noticed that the newest one was from a few days ago, and instead of listed things, it was a little paragraph.

_If you ever let anything happen to her, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Remember her smile, remember her touch, remember everything you can and use it as motivation to get better, to be better. She deserves a great man, so be a great man. If you remember nothing else, remember this: you need Y/N, and you must do right by her._

I closed the book and sat on the bed. After months of hard work and understanding, I hadn’t just gotten through to Bucky, I had become his girl. I smiled stupidly as I looked down at it and put it back on the desk. Moments later the doors opened to reveal Bucky with a bag of clothes.

“Eh… Natasha might know…” He said. My smile dropped.

“WHAT? BUCKY, _ANYONE_ BUT NAT.” I buried my head in my hands and he laughed throwing the bag down.

“Relax sweetheart, she just saw me coming out of your room with a bag, she doesn’t know anything else for sure.” He put his arm around me gave my shoulder a squeeze. “Now get up and get dressed, she said we have news and to meet in the conference room in 20.”

I got dressed and pulled my hair back. We walked down the hallway together, awkwardly silent because I was convinced everyone would be staring at us when we walked in. To my surprise, that wasn’t how it went at all. When we walked in I was immediately grabbed and pulled to the side by Tony and Steve.

“They’ve agreed, the UN has agreed to meet.” Steve said.

“Okay? Why are we telling just me?” I asked.

“You’re the brains on this one, agent. _You_ tell _us_ what to do next, and you share the news.”

After giving me all the details, I stepped to the head of the table. Tony and Steve sat on either side of me looking at me approvingly. I tensed up and looked around the table.

“Okay guys. We’ve got ourselves a UN meeting.” Everyone gave a little nod and I continued. “Now we’re going to meet them at the Pentagon in the States tomorrow morning. Okay? Tuesday morning, 9 AM. DO NOT MISS IT.” I looked around at everyone before giving my last bit of news, “The UN has decided that given the circumstances of the meeting, everyone there that falls under the status of war criminal will be temporarily pardoned unless we cannot provide substantial proof of HYDRA.”

“Do we have proof?” Scott asked?

“We fought off some HYDRA agents outside, is there footage of that my king?” Vision asked T’Challa.

“There is surveillance around the compound, I will ask some of my guards to bring it to me.” He replied.

“You’re going to be at this meeting as a leader, correct?” Steve asked him.

“I will be there anyway I have to in order to help and protect my country.” He looked back at me and nodded.

We continued going over the logistics, and before we knew it, noon came around.

“Okay everyone, train, pack, and prepare yourselves. In order to make it to D.C. by tomorrow we need to leave in a few hours.” Steve announced. Everyone split up before Tony cleared his throat, causing everyone to turn back around.

“There will be absolutely no sharing beds or canoodling on the jet, are we clear?” He looked at me and Bucky. My face turned red as everyone else smiled at us, Steve winking at Bucky and Natasha mouthing ‘good job’ at me. We high tailed it out of there and packed up to get on the jet.

-

12 PM, Tuesday September 19th

**BREAKING NEWS: UN MEETING WITH EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES BOMBED**

News Announcer: We’re reporting to you live to deliver some shocking news, the UN held a meeting in D.C. today to discuss the future of the Zokovia Accords with the likes of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers themselves. The meeting at 9AM this morning included all the nation’s leaders as well as Captain America, Iron Man and their associates Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Scott Lang, Wanda Maximoff, Spider-man, James Buchanan Barnes, James Rhodes, Maria Hill, Sharon Carter, and Y/N Y/L/N. We will continue to send updates, but we ask that everyone stay calm and hope for the best. It is a sad day for the world, but all we can do is hope.


	19. As An Avenger

**News Announcer: We’re reporting to you live to deliver some shocking news, the UN held a meeting in D.C. today to discuss the future of the Zokovia Accords with the likes of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers themselves. The meeting at 9AM this morning included all the nation’s leaders as well as Captain America, Iron Man and their associates Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, Scott Lang, Wanda Maximoff, Spider-man, James Buchanan Barnes, James Rhodes, Maria Hill, Sharon Carter, and Y/N Y/L/N. We will continue to send updates, but we ask that everyone stay calm and hope for the best. It is a sad day for the world, but all we can do is hope.**

* * *

 

-12 Hours Earlier-

“Cap?” I said timidly before everyone dispersed to load onto the jet.

“What’s up Y/N?”

“I just wanted to thank you, for standing up for me and Bucky to Tony…" he raised a brow at me, "I... we were coming back from the city and overheard your conversation. And I wanted to say thank you for letting this all happen.” I gestured to imply I was speaking of the team and mission I had come up with.

“You know, you remind me of someone.” He started with a bright smile, “I followed her into battle every time, because I knew somehow that things would work out. I felt safe around her, and she was just as impressive as you are.”

“Rogers, are you comparing me to Peggy Carter right now?” I laughed at him, “'Cause no. I’m nowhere near as impressive as she is.”

“You’re on your way.” He raised the corner of his mouth in a smirk and winked at me before picking up his gear to take on board. I smiled for a moment before realizing what we could be facing. T’Challa had gotten footage of the agents from the cameras outside, however it didn’t serve as substantial evidence. But, if everything went according to plan, we wouldn’t need _any_ evidence.

-

“DC in 10 hours. We have a place there; thanks to Pepper it is 100% ours for the couple of days.” Tony boasted from the front of the plane. “Now, Y/N, let’s go over this plan one more time. The most important thing is to keep all of these men and women safe, they are our world's leaders after all.”

“Right.” I stood up and smoothed out my wardrobe nervously. “The parking garage is key, if something goes wrong there, then everything goes wrong. We have instructed every vehicle to enter and park on the third floor of the public garage, which allowed entrance through an opaque tunnel. Basically it is going to keep everyone out of sight.”

“And all of our drivers are on the fourth?” Clint asked with a puzzled face.

“Yes, they will be on the floor above, waiting for further instruction from me.”

“I hope you are able to pull this off. It’s hit every news channel in the last hour, which means if HYDRA is out there watching…” Steve started.

“Do you trust me?” I interrupted, I looked around everyone, “Do you all trust me? If you don’t, nothing is stopping you from staying behind.”

“I trust you Y/N, and for what it’s worth, this is better than anything I would have thought to do.” Natasha praised. I smiled at her as Wanda beamed “I trust you too.” She said.

Everyone nodded and looked at me with their full attention allowing me to go back to explaining the plan. Halfway through I looked over to Bucky for support. He stood next to me and placed his arm around my shoulders making a general ‘sounds like a plan’ statement. After that we all took turns sharing stories, I learned more about the Avengers and their missions and funny stories. We all tried to sleep, but when your fate hangs in the balance of the world leaders, it’s a little hard to. I leaned against Bucky when it came time to land. He rubbed my arm to soothe me, assuring that everything would go fine.

We landed and made our way into the house to get ready. Everyone met in the front room, dressed in the most professional outfits they had. The boys were all in Navy Blue or Black suits, while us girls changed into neutral colored blazers and pencil skirts. Nerves were at an all time high as we gathered by the front door to the large house Pepper had arranged. She arrived shortly after, promising to stay behind the scenes and clean up any PR loose ends. When Bucky and Steve walked down, my nervous demeanor was put aside for a second as I looked at how handsome he was in a suit. I walked to him and tightened his tie while smiling, he put his hands on my hips and mimicked it for only a moment.

“Don’t you clean up well, sergeant?” I joked, smoothing out his jacket.

“You don’t look so bad yourself. You ready?”

“As I can be.” The doors opened, and we filed out to our cars, I was lucky enough to share mine with Bucky, Nat and Steve.

“Everything will be okay Y/N.” Natasha said, buckling her seatbelt as we drove off towards the government building, “I’m the most paranoid member of the team and even I have a good feeling about all of this.”

“I just get nervous about these types of things.” I said, Bucky took my hand in his and stroked the back of it. I leaned my head on his shoulder trying to calm myself down. “Here’s to hoping.”

-

The meeting was one of the most silent, awkward things of my life. I was standing at the podium ready to speak to all the nations leaders as they took their seats. I looked at the clock, it read 11:00 AM, just as planned I looked over to Tony and he cleared his throat, telling everyone to take their seats. All eyes averted to him as he stood beside me. He smiled and began to speak.

“First, I would like to thank you all for agreeing to attend this meeting, secondly I would like to apologize for the… requirements we sent you through. To my left is Y/N Y/L/N. She is… our newest team member on the Avengers and has a past in negotiations and strategies. She has planned today’s meeting and she will be addressing you. So…” He turned to me, smiling brightly, “You’re up, buttercup.”

I nodded at him and turned to the rest of the UN.

“I, I know that you’re all waiting for us to prove to you that what we say is true, and I know that no matter what I say there is a chance… a large chance, that you will not believe us. I mean, I am barely an Avenger, I can’t fight well or shoot perfectly. I have no powers, but what I do have is an ability to read people, to predict their next move and coerce them into something.”

“Mrs. Y/L/N?” A man from the crowd spoke up, “What exactly is the point of this meeting? An introduction? We have over a dozen heroes in this room, half of which are wanted criminals and you’re giving us a bio-“

“Let her speak!” T’Challa’s voice boomed in the room, stern but not loud. “I have had the pleasure of hosting all of these fine people in Wakanda for the last six months and I can promise you, it is worth hearing them out.”

Everyone whispered for a moment and looked at each other before calming down. Tony put his hand on my shoulder and when I looked to him he gave it a squeeze and smiled. I looked back at my team as they all smiled on at me. Suddenly I was filled with all the motivation I would ever need.

“I’m saying that HYDRA, while mostly monsters, are still men. Men are… by nature, radical. They seek attention in the form of admiration or fear. HYDRA is planning something, something that will be fueled by fear.” I looked around and took a deep breath. “I bet you’re all curious as to why you went through what you did this morning. T’Challa, why don’t you tell us the instructions we gave you and your team to get here? Just… humor me.”

“Of course. Upon arrival into the country my team was driven in a black SUV into a public parking garage attached to the conference building of the Pentagon. After arrival we were brought to another vehicle which we entered. After half an hour had passed, the car exited the building and drove another half hour away from the Pentagon. We parked underground at this office building and now we’re caught up.”

“And why do you think we planned this?” I asked, just as I did, Tony whispered into my ear the words I was waiting for. “No need to answer, let me show you.” I motioned to the television where I turned on the news.

“… the UN held a meeting in D.C. today to discuss the future of the Zokovia Accords with the likes of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers themselves. The meeting at 9AM this morning included all the nation’s leaders as well as Captain America, Iron Man and their associates…” everyone shifted in their seats talking to each other in shock.

“This is the work of HYDRA, the organization you’ve all forgotten about.” I started to get a little louder. “If we sit around and wait, we will see this time and time again, and we won’t be able to evacuate every building they target.”

The leaders looked around before one stood and spoke quietly to T’Challa. He nodded as the man continued to whisper something to him. When the man sat, the Wakandan walked over to me and leaned into the podium.

“I’m going to take it from here, miss Y/L/N. I think you’ve swayed their opinions of us.” He smiled, and I moved out of the way. He took the podium and looked back at us before speaking to his fellow leaders.

“Wakanda fully supports the suspension of the accords, and votes to remove them for as long as needed, to stop this madness and protect our people. Who is with us?”

One by one the representatives for each country stood up and showed their support. I felt a tug at my hand and looked back. Natasha winked at me and mouthed ‘congrats’ before beginning to clap. The rest of the room joined, and a wave of relief washed over me. With this decision, we would be free to stop everything HYDRA had planned.

“Mr. Stark?” A man busted in the room on the phone, “the drones you sent to look over the Pentagon have found something. We think it’s a base.”

Stark put on his sunglasses and looked at the UN leaders, “If you don’t mind, we have some bad guys to catch. Avengers!” He motioned with his hand for everyone to follow. I stood for a moment, wondering where they were going as they all left the room. Before the door shut behind them, Tony popped his head back in. “You’re new, so I will let this one go, but when I say ‘Avengers!’ it means all of us are leaving.”

“You… you mean I?”

“If nothing else, you’re good for team morale. Let’s go.”

And with that I followed him. As a friend, a teammate, as an Avenger I followed Tony Stark to the battle.


	20. Sounds Like Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A simple car ride back to the compound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's been approx. 35 years since my last chapter, but here is some domesticity.

******Stark put on his sunglasses and looked at the UN leaders, “If you don’t mind, we have some bad guys to catch. Avengers!” He motioned with his hand for everyone to follow. I stood for a moment, wondering where they were going as they all left the room. Before the door shut behind them, Tony popped his head back in. “You’re new, so I will let this one go, but when I say ‘Avengers!’ it means all of us are leaving.”**

**“You… you mean I?”**

**“If nothing else, you’re good for team morale. Let’s go.”**

**And with that I followed him. As a friend, a teammate, as an Avenger I followed Tony Stark to the battle**.

* * *

 

“We believe it’s a base in Russia,” the man said, walking us to the garage, “in the underground subway tunnels that are no longer in use. We think they’ve got a lab, fumes have been reported all around and the droid followed them back last night.”

“Tony” I stopped him in his tracks, “if you could have stopped the bombing, and caught that agent instead…”

“Y/N they never would have told us anything, they’d rather die. It was the only way. The Pentagon was empty and the surrounding area was too. No one was hurt, and everything worked out.” He looked my straight in the eyes, “we’ve destroyed things long before today and we’ll continue long after.”

“Please, _please_ , let’s not get another civil war within this team.” Natasha groaned, “We’ll go to the compound and plan out our next move. We need to gather intel.”

“I’m on it already.” The man said, leaving us to our vehicles.

“I was looking forward to alone time with Pepper, I didn’t think we’d get the okay this fast.” Tony said getting into his car. “Compound, 10 AM tomorrow. I don’t care how you get there, but the jet leaves at 8 tonight.” He shouted our way.

-

On the car ride back to our safehouse in DC, we discussed our options.

“I think I’d like to drive back.” I said, “I could use the scenery and the break I guess.”

“I’ll go with you.” Natasha said, “I always preferred car rides to planes anyways, what about you Steve? Ready to relive our cross-country trip?”

“I’ll go, but this time I’m not hotwiring a car.” The blondie replied from the front seat, eliciting chuckles from us all.

“I’ll go too,” Bucky said, “I don’t want to be left alone on a plane ride with Stark and whoever else.”

“Good call.” I said, patting him on the shoulder. “What about Sharon?”

“She’ll take the jet, she probably has work to do right when we get back.” Steve said, throwing his arms up at the familiarity of Sharon leaving him for work. I chuckled before looking out the window.

When the car dropped us at the house we packed, left a note for Tony, and left for a late lunch. The news was out that the UN had avoided the bombing, and Pepper gave a speech at a press conference assuring everyone that no one was hurt and they were doing everything to find the bombers. We wanted to make sure it looked like the leaders of the world had no idea what HYDRA was up to, we even left out the disbanding of the accords. After lunch we stopped by the Pentagon to lend a hand cleaning up, trying to boost the opinion of the former war criminals. After that, almost everyone went back to the house to catch the jet while Steve, Nat, Bucky and myself left for the compound in a big Jeep Grand Cherokee.

-

Steve took the first shift of driving, Bucky keeping him company up front while me and Natasha took cat naps. I couldn’t hear everything they were talking about while I drifted off, but it sounded like memories of traveling together in the army. I let sleep take me and when I woke up we were at a gas station.

“Our turn, smooth talker.” Natasha said as she shut her door. I got out of the car and made my way into the gas station where I saw a confused Bucky at the coffee section.

“You alright, Buck?” I asked, grabbing a cup.

“Where do I get just a black coffee?” He asked, I laughed and took his cup pressing the buttons for a regular caffeinated Columbian coffee.

“There, it’s just a few buttons.” I said, filling my own cup as well as one more for the cranky Widow. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you about technology as we go.” He rolled his eyes and leaned forward when I turned around, planting a kiss to my forehead.

“Thanks, doll. I would be lost without you.” He slung his arm around my shoulder and paid for our coffees before we walked back towards the car.

“No. See? This,” she gestured to our couple-like behavior, “is why you two aren’t paired up. The PDA is so unnecessary.” Natasha said, I handed her the cup of coffee and she smiled faintly, “All is forgiven, then.” She said before hopping in the driver’s side with a smirk.

Despite a tall cup of coffee, Bucky and Steve both passed out in the back leaving me and Nat to ourselves up front. I looked out the window as we passed town after town just admiring the peacefulness.

“You did good today.” Nat broke the silence.

“Thanks, I wasn’t so nervous after I saw all of you supporting me.”

“It’s funny, all I ever wanted was a family, and now I realize I’ve had one for years.” She turned down the music. “You fit in so well, Y/N. From day one Stark saw that you were good to have around. We work better as a team and you give everyone the good sense they need to make it work. I’m just glad you’ve stuck around.”

“I’m not going anywhere Romanoff.” I joked, “You’re going to have to get used to me.”

“And the PDA?” She said slyly. “I see you two are pretty close now.”

“I don’t know, we just. I think we understand each other a little more than most people could. I mean he has Steve, and I have you and Sharon, but we really just get each other.”

“Gross, sounds like love.”

“Maybe,” I said as I looked back out the window, “maybe it does.”

The guys woke up about an hour later, demanding we get food, their super serum hunger striking again. We stopped off at a fast food joint, putting on hats and hoodies to walk in unrecognized. I clung to Bucky’s arm as we were in line, tired and wishing I could be alone with him for a while like we were in Wakanda. He moved behind me and wrapped his arms around me tightly, joking about ordering one of everything on the menu, which him and steve almost accomplished.

After pigging out in the car, we continued our trip, Natasha and Steve agreeing to take the front so me and Bucky could enjoy the last couple of hours. It was a peaceful remainder of the trip, a mix of conversations and sing-a-longs.

“What would you guys do if you weren’t heroes?” I asked suddenly, I had chosen to lie down in back, with my head resting in Bucky’s lap. He was tracing shapes on my arm.

“I don’t know… probably something boring?” Natasha started, “I think I would be a teacher or something.” We all busted out in laughter at the idea.

“What?!” She yelled looking around at all of us, “I would be a good teacher!”

“You’d scare the hell out of them or give them too much of a distraction.” Steve joked.

“Well what about you? I bet you’d be doing an every-day-hero kind of thing.” She poked at him.

“I’d probably draw comics for a paper or do something artistic.” He replied, “I used to draw a lot.”

“I remember that,” Bucky chimed in, “you were always doodling, you were good too.” He smiled at the memory and looked down at me.

“What would you be doing?” I asked him, reaching up to stroke his cheek.

“I don’t know, probably working at a bar or something.” He said, “Maybe I’d join the army again. I don’t know how to do anything but fight anymore.”

“I think I’d be a singer.” I said boldly.

“A tone-deaf one.” Natasha joked. I smacked her arm playfully.

“Better than you!” I yelled back at her.

“Alright let’s test this theory out.” Steve said, switching on the radio. We sang along and talked more about things other than the fight. We decided to take a road trip when everything was over. Assuming we were all alive and well at the end of it all. When we arrived at the compound, we went to our rooms, Bucky joining me in mine. It didn’t take long to fall asleep, the comfort of Bucky’s arms around me put me at ease and I drifted off, happy to have another seemingly normal day.


End file.
